TNAG-1987-FCO40-2820-Presentation-of-UK-policy-on-Hong-Kong-to-the-media-1989 — Page 179

BASIC LAW

The Joint Declaration provides that the policies of China towards

Hong Kong, as stated in the Joint Declaration, will be set out in

the Basic Law and will remain unchanged for 50 years. The Basic Law

will be a law, enacted by the National People's Congress, giving

effect under the Chinese constitution to the provisions of the Joint

Declaration. As it will be a Chinese law, the Chinese have always

insisted that drafting it is a matter for them alone and that it is

for them to consult the Hong Kong people (who are represented on the

Basic Law Drafting Committee, together with mainland

representatives). The Chinese also established a Basic Law Consultative Committee with the task of soliciting the views of Hong

Kong people on the draft. The first draft was published in April 1988. After a period of consultation in Hong Kong, and subsequent

revision, a second draft was published in February 1989 for further

public consultation.

The current public consultation period in Hong Kong was to have

finished at the end of July but was effectively suspended following

the events of 3/4 June. The Chinese authorities have now indicated

that the consultation period will be extended until the end of

October, but that they intend to proceed with promulgation of the

final version in the Spring of 1990 as originally planned.

Although the drafting of the Basic Law is formally a Chinese responsibility, the British Government as co-signatory to the Joint

Declaration have the right to satisfy themselves that the provisions

of the Basic Law fully accord with the terms of the Joint

Declaration.

The Government have therefore been following the drafting process extremely closely and have maintained a detailed dialogue with the Chinese behind the scenes. The main areas of

public concern now are the political structure (see paragraph on representative government); the stationing of Chinese troops in Hong Kong; and the scope for the imposition of national laws (including martial law) in Hong Kong. The Government will be pursuing these and other more detailed and technical points with the Chinese

authorities through a variety of channels, and urging them to make