CONFIDENTIAL
IN 1982 YOU SAID YOU HAD A MORAL DUTY TOWARDS HONG KONG. WHAT HAS
BECOME OF THAT?
4. I believe that we have fulfilled our moral duty towards the people of Hong Kong. We have succeeded in concluding an agreement that provides the necessary safeguards for the future of the territory, and does so in the form of a legally-binding international agreement. If we had not entered into negotiations and if we had let Hong Kong revert to China in 1997 without such an agreement, how could that have been consistent with our moral duty? Instead we have an agreement which is acceptable not only to the Chinese Government and British Parliament, but also to the overwhelming majority of the people of Hong Kong.
IN 1982 YOU SAID THAT IF A COUNTRY WILL NOT STAND BY ONE TREATY IT
WILL NOT STAND BY ANOTHER. WHAT REASON HAVE YOU GOT TO TRUST THE
CHINESE NOW?
5. I think there are very good reasons for believing that the Chinese Government will implement the agreement which Premier Zhao Ziyang and I signed on 19 December. The Chinese Government have publicly recognised the agreement as legally binding. China has a good record of observance of international agreements. Furthermore, observance is strongly in China's interests for economic reasons and for the cause of national
reunification.
WAS IT NOT AN ERROR TO ENTER INTO TALKS WITH CHINESE GOVERNMENT ON HONG KONG WHEN YOU DID?
6.
As I said in 1982 we could not just ignore the uncertainty caused by the expiry of the New Territories lease in 1997. We had to do all that we could to reduce that uncertainty, as we were urged to do by opinion in Hong Kong. It was to overcome this problem that we began talks with the Chinese Government in 1982. I am sure, in the light of the agreement we have now reached, that this was the right thing to do.
IMPLEMENTATION OF AGREEMENT
WHAT WILL BRITAIN DO IF CHINESE DO NOT IMPLEMENT AGREEMENT?
most
7. Breach of a legally binding international agreement would be a
serious matter, in our own eyes and no doubt in those of
international community as a whole. We would of course make the
CONFIDENTIAL
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