CONFIDENTIAL
15.
29.
The Future
The ratification and registration of the Joint Declaration will complete the first stage in the process of securing the future of this territory. But that future cannot be assured by the agreement alone. For Hong Kong to make successfully the transition from a British Crown Colony to a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on the terms set out in the Joint Declaration will require determination and restraint on the part of all three parties involved - the Chinese and British Governments and the community of Hong Kong itself.
30. First it will be important never to lose sight of the constant factors in the wholly unorthodox equation which has maintained the equilibrium of Hong Kong throughout the past 35 years. These have not been fundamentally altered by the negotiation of the agreement.
31.
Economically, Hong Kong will remain a volatile place sensitive to the fortunes of the United States and Europe, Hong Kong's largest markets. China itself is again becoming an increasingly important trading partner. Much will depend, too, on the fortunes of Hong Kong's own financial institutions.
32.
Politically, Hong Kong has generally paid a very small price for being a defenceless speck on China's coastline. We have taken care to organise Hong Kong's daily life in a way which is as unprovocative as possible to China's susceptibilities. But we have also been prepared to resist Chinese pressure, and to take decisions which though not popular with the Chinese Government were clearly necessary in Hong Kong's best interests. After 1997, the British will no longer be here to walk this tightrope on Hong Kong's behalf. Unless we are
/prepared
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