TNAG-1850-FCO40-2625-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 65

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TRANSCRIPT B: SELECT COMMITTEE ON HONG KONG 12 JUFE 1989

-6-

SIR DAVID WILSON:

I think, Mr. Wells, that people in Hong Kong will

look with great concern, in light of what has happened

recently, about any suggestion of significant numbers of

troops being stationed in a central area.

All of these things were previously the subject of

discussion between ourselves and the Chinese.

We do not

yet know when those discussions can resume or what the

atmosphere 16 likely to be when they do resume, but there

is a general point, without any doubt, about the type of

public perception in light of what has been happening

public perception in Hong Kong,

MR.

IAN TAYLOR:

Governor, you have implied that it may be "back to

the drawing board" in due course on the Draft Basic Law,

when discussions can continue, but you have also said that

the Joint Declaration, in your view, has not been

breached.

There is one aspect of the Joint Declaration which I

have not seen commented upon much in public on which we

have had evidence, which is that the British Government's

responsibility under the Declaration does not end in 1997

but in fact continues for the 50 years thereafter.