TNAG-1333-FCO40-1765-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-1985 — Page 296

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станок вени и на

Sir P Crady

Private Secretary

SECRET

cc:

FROM:

Mr Gatswathy

Fu

A C GALSWORTHY, HKD

DATE: 24 AUGUST 1984

ник 040 153

RECEIVED IN

- 3 SEP 1984

DAJK OFFICEK

PS/M Luce.

PS PUS

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JAK 16 A

Sit I Freeland

Sir W Harding

Mr Goulden, News Dept

Mr Elliott, FED

Soken

6

Mr Bacon, Parliamentary Unit Mr Walker, Research Dept

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: LEGISLATION

PROBLEM

1. To seek the agreement in principle of the Lord President and the

Leader of the House to the enactment of legislation about Hong Kong

in order to be able to ratify the agreement with China by July 1985.

RECOMMENDATION

2. I recommend that the Secretary of State write to the Lord

President of the Council (as Chairman of QL) and to the Leader of the

House in the terms of the attached drafts.

A

BACKGROUND AND ARGUMENT

3. The Chinese are pressing us to put forward a date for ratification

of the agreement for inclusion in the penultimate paragraph of the

Joint Declaration. We have made it clear to them that it will be a

matter of months rather than the 30 days they first proposed.

4. On this point the Legal Advisers have pointed out a serious problem with the text of the agreement as it stands, which would commit

us to exchanging instruments of ratification by a specific date.

Since this would commit Parliament to passing the legislation by a Specific separate date, they would regard a clause in this form as

unconstitutional. On the other hand it is clear that there will be

major difficulties with the Chinese if we decline to name a date, or

SECRET

seek