TNAG-1377-FCO40-1825-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 117

creation of a Joint Liaison Group of five

five British and

five Chinese members to meet in London, Peking and Hong

Kong. The annex provides that members of the Joint

Liaison Group will enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities as appropriate when the Group meets in the

three locations. Existing legislation would not cover

this rather unusual category of representative, and it is therefore necessary to legislate specifically. Hong Kong will need to legislate separately to provide privileges and immunities in Hong Kong for the Chinese Group until 1997. Appropriate measures

taken for the British members of the

It will be for the Chinese to provide

the British members

members of the

will have to be

Group thereafter.

similar privileges and immunities

when the Group meets in Peking.

about the future.

I

-

the

Mr Speaker, before concluding let me say a word

The signature of the agreement, and

hope

passage of this Bill,

leading to ratification of the agreement, represent the beginning

of a process, not the end. There is much to do between

now and 1997. It will require the closest cooperation

between ourselves and the Chinese Government. It will

also require the closest

the people of Hong Kong.

consultation throughout with

The process of consultation, which has worked SO

well throughout the negotiation of the

agreement, will

be further assisted by the progressive strengthening of

representative governmment in Hong Kong over the next 10

years. As the House knows, the first elections to the Legislative Council will take place in September this year, and there will be

electoral process and

years' time.

further public review of the

constitutional structure in t wo

The most immediate

of the Joint Liaison

agreement.

task will

will be the establishment

Group provided for in the

—

We

are

now

actively working on

this:

the