TNAG-1856-FCO40-2631-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-memoranda-and-minutes-of-me-1989 — Page 54

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

香港立法局

5 July 1989

一九八九年七月五日

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believes that the Chinese Government will honour the Joint Declaration to the full because it was in its interest to do so.

This sounds like a good argument; but there is a fundamental flaw in it. For if the present confidence crisis were to continue unabated either because of the British Government's refusal to grant the right of abode to the 3.25 million British subjects and to provide a life-line for the other 2.5 million Hong Kong citizens, or for some other reason, and if Hong Kong should lose her prosperity or stability as a result which many will think is a distinct possibility, then the Chinese Government might no longer think there would still be in its interest to adhere to the terms of the Joint Declaration.

It is therefore clear that the British Government can no longer expect this agreement alone in its present form to guarantee for us a secure future.

When the British Government agreed to hand Hong Kong back to the Chinese Government with all its people under this agreement in 1984, it was like a foster parent agreeing to return a child to the natural parent who is known to love and care for her own children. But a little later, and still before the transfer of custody, the natural parent becomes a completely changed person and kills one child and is cruel to another. Will the foster parent say: "Well, an agreement is an agreement. And besides, since the child in question is a talented young movie star, it will be in the natural parent's interest to be nice to the child.'

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If one really wants to do something for Hong Kong, one must not start from the premise that the Joint Declaration is as inviolable as the Bible.

Further, bearing in mind the duty cast upon the British Government by clause 4 of the Joint Declaration to hand Hong Kong back to China as a prosperous and stable international city, it is the British Government's duty to sit down with the Chinese Government at some stage and say: "I regret that there is a strong likelihood that we cannot hand Hong Kong back to you as a thriving international city on 1 July 1997, because of your own acts of atrocity. But if you still want Hong Kong to prosper and be stable, then we must work on it very seriously and try to give Hong Kong a much better deal than the one we gave them in 1984.

I do not suggest that the Joint Declaration be torn up before such re- negotiation should take place. The Joint Declaration will remain binding until it is superseded by some new agreement. And if the Chinese Government chooses to be uncompromising, then the Joint Declaration still stands.