TNAG-1390-FCO40-1862-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-for-meetings-and-visits-1985 — Page 131

BACKGROUND

References:

(a)

(b)

Summary of the Hong Kong Agreement.

(c)

1.

(d)

Section X of Annex I on Culture and Education.

Section X III of Annex I on Rights and Freedoms.

Report of Rev Gordon Shaw on visit to Hong Kong.

Summary of Assessment Office and Independent

Monitors' reports.

The British Council of Churches has recently produced a report

on the future of Hong Kong and the

agreement. The report is by the

Rev Gordon Shaw who visited Hong Kong from 17-20 October.

the

In his

report the Rev Shaw describes the visit by 21

Hong Kong Protestant

leaders to Peking and the assurances they received from Chinese

leaders that religious organisations in China would not interfere

with similar organisations in Hong Kong. Rev Shaw then describes

response to the agreement which he noted whilst in Hong Kong.

The general reaction was that China's resumption of sovereignty over

Hong Kong was inevitable. Against this background, some saw the

agreement as a very good one, whilst others were unwilling to give

an opinion on it since

since it only comes into force in 1997. Rev Shaw

concludes his

report by saying that the way to secure Hong Kong's

future is to ensure that a representative government elected on the

basis of universal suffrage is in place before 1997.

2.

The

ja

agreement was initialled on 26 September and published as a

White Paper. The people of Hong Kong were invited to submit their

views on the overall acceptability of the agreement to an Assessment

office, set up under the authoritity of the Governor of Hong Kong,

with the task of collating, summarising and assessing these views

and producing a report.

The Secretary of State appointed two

Assessment

Indepedent Monitors whose task was to report on whether this office

had properly, accurately and impartially discharged its duties.

Both reports were published

on 29 November. The

Office

report concluded that most of the people of Hong Kong found the

The Independent

of

draft

agreement

acceptable.

Monitors confirmed this conclusion.

team

3.

Parliament debated the draft

agreement at

the

beginning

of