TNAG-1332-FCO40-1762-Future-of-Hong-Kong-White-Paper-on-the-Joint-Declaration-1984 — Page 210

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CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG

15.

From the beginning of the negotiations the Government have been

conscious that the negotiations concerned the interests and future

of the five and a half million people of Hong Kong. It has been the

Government's consistent position that any agreement with the Chinese

Government on the future of the territory should be acceptable to

the people of Hong Kong as well as to the British Parliament and the

Chinese Government.

16. The negotiations had to be conducted on a basis of

confidentiality. This was crucial to their success, but the

maintenance of confidentiality also caused much concern and anxiety

among the people of Hong Kong who were understandably anxious to

know what was being negotiated for their future. The Official and

Unofficial members of the Executive Council, as the Governor's

closest advisers, were kept fully informed on the negotiations and

consulted on a continuing basis throughout the period. The

Unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils

(UMELCO) provided invaluable advice to the Governor and to Ministers

on the course of the negotiations and on the attitude of the people

of Hong Kong.

17. At a number of crucial points in the negotiations the

Unofficial members of the Executive Council visited London for

consultations with the Prime Minister and other Ministers. British

Ministers also paid a series of visits to Hong Kong, to consult the

Executive Council and the Unofficial members of the Executive and

Legislative Councils and to keep in touch with opinion in the

territory. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth

Affairs was able to describe the approach of the British Government

to the negotiations in his statement in Hong Kong on 20 April 1984,

and to fill in more details of the content of the agreement in a

further statement in the territory on 1 August 1984. In the course

of the negotiations, and in particular since the statement of 20

April, numerous individuals and groups in Hong Kong have made

specific proposals on what should be included in an eventual

agreement. The Government has paid close attention to these proposals which the Hong Kong Government has relayed to Ministers

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