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community.
I am grateful to my rt hon friend the
member for Aylesbury and the noble Ld Lord Ennals, for
their thorough and expert report on the first 51 who
were repatriated before Christmas. I would welcome
monitoring by the UNHCR and other agencies for all
future returnees.
Mr Speaker, no-one in Hong Kong seriously disputes the
validity of the Joint Declaration as the basis for Hong
Kong's future after 1997. But confidence in the
concept of one country two systems was undermined by
the events of last June. Since then, the Chinese
Government have reaffirmed their commitment to the
Joint Declaration and I believe we must make it work.
An important element in that is the extent and pace of
movement to democracy in Hong Kong before and after
1997. This is a subject as I found of intense concern
and debate in Hong Kong and we are discussing it with
the Chinese Government.
Those discussions are
continuing and I would prefer not to go into detail
-
today. Our goal is to set in place a system
beginning with elections to the Legislative Council in
1991 which will satisfy Hong Kong's aspiration for
democracy and which will endure after 1997.
I hope,
after further discussion, to be able to announce a
decision within the next few weeks.
/Mr Speaker, Hong Kong
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.