TNAG-1379-FCO40-1827-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 38

HONG KONG BILL

REVISED NOTES ON CLAUSES

INTRODUCTION

CONFIDENTIAL

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1

1. A Bill is required

to

implement

the Joint

Declaration of the

Government

of the People's

a

Government of the United Kingdom and the

Republic of China on the question of Hong Kong

Kong (published as

White Paper, command 9352). The Joint Declaration was signed by the

British and Chinese Prime Ministers on 19 December 1984 in Peking.

2.

of

Paragraph 8 of the Joint Declaration states that instruments

ratification will be exchanged before 30 June 1985. It is therefore

necessary to put the Hong Kong Bill through all its stages as

rapidly as possible.

3.

the

over

Legislation is necessary

in two respects to allow us to ratify

agreement: first to provide for the termination of sovereignty

the ceded parts of Hong Kong and the termination of

jurisdiction over the whole territory as from 1 July 1997, and

second to accord diplomatic privileges and immunities to

to the Chinese

members of the Joint Liaison Group who will attend meetings of

of the

Group in London. Ministers have decided that two other associated

subjects should be included in the Bill: an enabling clause to allow

a subsequent Order or Orders in Council in order to implement the UK

Memorandum on nationality associated with the agreement and to make

other necessary provisions relating to nationality, and a further

enabling clause to allow technical amendments to be made to UK

legislation.

event of parliamentary opposition which

threatened to delay the Bill's passage, and hence ratification,

these two aspects of the legislation could

dropped and dealt with in a separate Bill.

4.

In the

in

the final resort be

Although the Bil1 is fairly narroW in scope Lords may well use the opportunity to debate the whole. future of Hong Kong. Following

endorsement of the agreement by the people of Hong Kong, the

the

CONFIDENTIAL