that the whole of Hong Kong is Chinese territory.
For
many years its position was that the treaties relating to
Hong Kong were unequal ones left over from history; that
the question should be settled peacefully through
negotiation when the time was ripe; and that pending a
settlement the status quo should be maintained.
It made
it clear that the settlement of the question of Hong Kong
a matter of China's sovereign right.
3.
The expiry of the New Territories' lease on 30 June
1997 was the central fact in the British Government's
consideration of the future of Hong Kong before the
negotiations began. It was clear that the remaining 8%
of Hong Kong's land area would not be viable without the
New Territories, which contain most of the territory's
agriculture and industry, its power stations, and its
aiport and container port. Moreover, by the late 1970s,
concern about Hong Kong's future, both locally and
amongst foreign investors, began to grow. The inability
of the Hong Kong Government to grant new land leases in
the New Territories extending beyond 1997 was a
particular problem which was becoming progressively more
serious. Simply to have ignored the 1997 deadline was
not an option: that would have led to a steady erosion of
confidence or possibly a sudden panic as the reality of
Hong Kong's uncertain future became closer and clearer.
4. Against this background the British Government became
increasingly aware, from the late 1970s onwards, of the
need to remove the uncertainty imposed by the 1997
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