TNAG-1984-FCO40-2817-Presentation-of-UK-policy-on-Hong-Kong-to-the-media-1989 — Page 43

I:

THE NEGOTATION OF THE JOINT DECLARATION

1.

Under the Treaty of Nanking (1842) and the Convention of

Peking (1860) Hong Kong Island, the southern part of the Kowloon

Peninsula and Stonecutters Island were ceded to Britain in

perpetuity. The rest of the territory of Hong Kong (92% of the

total land area) was leased to Britain for 99 years from 1 July 1898

under a further Convention signed in Peking in that year.

2.

The expiry of the New Territories' lease on 30 June 1997 made it necessary to tackle the question of Hong Kong's future. 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, its airport and its

container port. A particular problem was the inability of the Hong Kong Government to grant new land leases in the New Territories extending beyond 1997. Simply to have ignored the 1997 deadline was not an option. The legal instrument under which the New Territories

was governed was due to expire in 1997. If the matter had remained unresolved there would have been a progressive erosion of confidence

as the deadline approached.

3.

Following the visit of the Prime Minister to China in 1982, the British and Chinese Governments agreed to hold talks "with the common aim of maintaining the stability and prosperity of Hong

Kong". The negotiations lasted 2 years, from September 1982 to

September 1984. After an initial phase, conducted through the British Embassy in Peking, a second phase of formal talks began in

July 1983 and consisted of 22 rounds of negotiations over 14 months,

supplemented by informal contacts, and in the final 4 months, by

full time discussion of draft texts tabled by the two sides.

4.

The British side initially argued hard for the retention of

British administration in Hong Kong after 1997 as the surest way of

maintaining the prosperity and stability of the territory. But

after protracted discussion, it was clear that this was unacceptable

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