TNAG-1392-FCO40-1864-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-for-meetings-and-visits-1985 — Page 123

Land Commission

8.

A

CONFIDENTIAL

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR

...40 YEARS UNDER FOI EXEMPTION NO. 274.....

Sino-British Land Commission has also been

established under Annex III to the Joint Declaration.

This is staffed on our side by Hong Kong Government officials and is making good progress in resolving a number of complex technical issues concerning the implementation of Annex III of the agreement on Land.

Basic Law

9.

Under the Joint Declaration the Chinese have

agreed that the policies set out in paragraph 3 and

elaborated in Annex I will be stipulated in a Basic

Law of the Special Administrative Region and will remain unchanged for 50 years. The Chinese have begun work. on this law and plan to complete it by 1990. They have appointed a Basic Law Drafting Committee including a number of Hong Kong representatives, and a

larger Basic Law Consultative Committee is being established in Hong Kong. We

drafting work will be done

done by

and Macau Office, but it is encouraging that the Chinese are prepared to show some sensitivity to Hong Kong's views.

It is vital that the Basic Law

accurately reflects the Joint Declaration and that its

stipulations in areas where the Joint Declaration is

vague, such as Government structure, are acceptable in

Hong Kong. The Basic Law is for the Chinese to draft.

Any suggestion that we have a role would be strongly

resented.

believe that the real

the Chinese Hong Kong

Nationality

10.

At the time of the signature of the Joint Declaration we exchanged Memoranda with the Chinese on nationality. Under this exchange we agreed that Hong Kong people would lose British Dependent Territories

citizens would use that

status on 1 July 1997 but

CONFIDENTIAL