From the Secretary of State
PERSONAL
652
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
HUKB 011/3/2017/57428
НКВ
29 July 1988
Enter 17.
Mr Wo
James
W
When we spoke the other day, you kindly offered to take a look at the draft Basic Law for Hong Kong, which was published in April and which has been the subject of an intensive public consultation exercise in the territory. I enclose a copy, and would be most interested in your comments.
That
The background of course begins with the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 - the agreement on Hong Kong's future, of which I also enclose a copy. provided for Hong Kong to continue for fifty years after 1997 essentially unchanged' in its social, economic, legal and other systems, but under a different constitutional arrangement as a Special Administration Region of China, enjoying a high degree of autonomy, except in matters of foreign affairs and defence.
The purpose of the Basic Law is to transmit the arrangements in the Joint Declaration into law, and to give them effect under the Chinese constitution. The drafting responsibility lies entirely with the Chinese. It is their law. Our locus is our right to satisfy ourselves that the Joint Declaration is indeed properly reflected in the Basic Law.
The Rt Hon Lord Mackay of Clashfern
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