TNAG-1851-FCO40-2626-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 117

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SECOND REPORT FROM

The United Kingdom Obligation to Hong Kong

1.6 The central issue in any consideration of the future of Hong Kong must be the nature of the British obligation to the Territory. This has particular importance because of Hong Kong's unique position as the United Kingdom's only colony or dependent territory whose people cannot exercise the fundamental right of self-determination. Also unique are the funda- mental conditions of the Territory's existence. The lease, on which 92 per cent of the land area (ie the New Territories) is held expires on 30 June 1997. It was therefore imperative to reach an agreement with China to protect as much as possible of the integrity of Hong Kong well ahead of that time. It was in recognition of this unique situation that the British Government entered into negotiations which resulted in the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the question of Hong Kong of 1984. The British Government felt compelled to seek an agreement with the People's Republic since it was faced by the expiry of the lease on the New Territories on 30 June 1997. A particular problem was the inability of the Hong Kong Government to grant land leases in the New Territories extending beyond 1997.1 Britain could not deny the importance of 1997 and the expiry of the lease without also denying the validity of its claim not just to the New Territories but also to Hong Kong Island itself and the Kowloon peninsula which were ceded in perpetuity under earlier treaties. These represent only 8 per cent of Hong Kong's total land area and cannot be viable on their own.2 The Declaration was initialled on 26 September 1984. It was debated in the House of Commons on 5 December 1984, when a motion to approve the British Government's intention to sign it was passed without a division. It was accordingly signed on 19 December 1984, ratified on 27 May 1985 and registered at the United Nations on 12 June 1985.

1.7. The Joint Declaration is a remarkable achievement. It is an internationally recognised treaty which is binding on both parties. It provides that Hong Kong shall cease to be a British dependent territory on 30 June 1997 and become instead a Special Administrative Region within the People's Republic of China. It should be noted that by the Joint Declaration the People's Republic for the first time concedes British sovereignty over Hong Kong, albeit only to 1997, and a future status for Hong Kong governed for 50 years by an international treaty. The provisions of the Joint Declaration will be put into effect by a Basic Law passed by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic. It is to be directed by a Basic Law Drafting Committee whose membership was originally 59; 36 from the People's Republic and 23 from Hong Kong. The views of the people of Hong Kong are to be collected and passed on to the Drafting Committee by a Basic Law Consultative Committee which had an original membership of 180, all from Hong Kong.

1.8. The relationship between the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law (which we discuss in greater detail at paragraphs 2.6-2.7 below) is of paramount importance since it is the latter which establishes the detail of the promise of "one country, two systems" in the former. Therefore, although the Basic Law is not formally a matter for negotiation between the British and Chinese governments, Britain's obligation to Hong Kong demands a close interest in the provisions of the Basic Law. We discuss Britain's obligations in the very controversial area of nationality in greater detail below (paragraphs 4.6-4.16), but we must emphasise that Britain's obligations stem fundamentally from the unique characteristic of Hong Kong which we described above, and from the provisions of the Joint Declaration which the British Government entered into to satisfy those obligations.

1.9. Now, however, in the aftermath of the massacres and subsequent repression in the People's Republic, the British Government must also find ways to restore confidence in Hong Kong in the shorter term. After the weekend of 3-4 June, the Hang Seng index-considered a reliable short-term barometer of public opinion in Hong Kong-plummetted. On successive Sundays there were orderly mass demonstrations in Hong Kong, which as the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Wilson, told us were without precedent in its history3. Confidence can be bolstered to some extent by the firmness of the British Government's attitude towards Beijing. Confidence has suffered in the past by a perception that the British Government has been weak. We do not believe that this perception has been valid. Nonetheless, it is now of redoubled importance that Britain acts and is seen to act as a strong champion of Hong Kong's interests.

1 Evidence, p 1.

2 Ibid. 3 Q 869.