TNAG-1377-FCO40-1825-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 175

CONFIDENTIAL

(b) DEFENCE OF THE BILL IN GENERAL

[ If it is suggested that the Bill until the Basic Law has been passed]

should not be put forward

Some hon Members have suggested that it is wrong to legislate

for an event 12 years in the future. They have suggested that

we should wait until we have seen the Chinese Basic Law before

passing our own Act.

Such a delay would not be possible. The agreement was made on

the basis that we would proceed to ratification before the

promulgation of the Basic Law. Ratification must take place

before 30 June 1985, and the Basic Law is unlikely to be

promulgated before 1990. In order to ratify the agreement the Government needs legislation to be in place now.

[If necessary: It was an essential Chinese requirement for the

that

there should be a

for firm date

ratification.

agreement They would have preferred the period to be very much shorter, and this point proved to be extremely difficult to resolve, 30 June 1985 was a compromise.]

Paragraph 3(12)

the policies set

Nor do we need to wait to see the Basic Law.

of the Joint Declaration makes it clear that out in that paragraph and in Annex I will be Basic Law. We therefore already know a great deal about the

shape that the Basic Law will take.

CONFIDENTIAL

I will be stipulated in the

about