DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
8.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret
Secret
Confidential
Restricted
Unclassified
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
The negotiations were conducted on a strictly
confidential basis. But the British Government had made
it clear from the outset that any agreement on Hong
Kong's future would have to be acceptable to the people
of Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong was a member of
the British negotiating team. Members of the Executive
Council, the Governor's closest advisers, were kept fully
informed of developments. The Foreign Secretary
consulted the Executive Council before each of his visits
to China. Our negotiating position was helpfully and
decisively influenced by their advice. The Governor and
members of the Executive Council visited London on
several occasions, for talks with the Prime Minister and
other Ministers; and British Ministers paid a series of
visits to the territory to keep in direct touch with
opinion there, including in particular with Members of
the Legislative Council.
9. After the Joint Declaration was initialled in
September 1984, an Assessment Office was set up in Hong
Kong to analyse and assess the views of Hong Kong people
on the draft. To ensure complete impartiality, the work
of the Assessment Office was overseen by two eminent
independent monitors. The Assessment Office found that
the draft had been widely accepted by the people of the
territory: there was general recognition that a document
containing such detailed and comprehensive provisions for
Hong Kong's future was the best that could have been
achieved in the circumstances.
It exceeded the
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