CONFIDENTIAL
- 13
the organisations.
This is, in brief, that nobody in
Hong Kong can escape the uncertainties of the future;
that there is a significant minority who reject the draft
agreement because they can never accept reunification
with Communist China or because they feel bitter about
its consequences for themselves as British Dependent
Territory Citizens; and that the substantial majority
who accept it do so because they regard reunification
as inevitable and are relieved that the terms of the draft
agreement are as good as they are.
22.
But acceptance implies neither positive enthusiasm
nor passive acquiescence.
The evidence of our monitoring
role has underlined that the people of Hong Kong are realistic
and adaptable: they know that their future now lies in
their own hands; and the widespread concern to be involved,
as the Assessment Office report has highlighted, in the
drafting of the Basic Law is a timely and important token
of their wish to stand increasingly on their own political
feet.]
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