TNAG-2118-FCO40-3024-Future-of-Hong-Kong-general-1990 — Page 140

70

201

0010

BC C

08

HONG KONG

1. Public Opinion in Hong Kong.

1:1

10

#1

In 1997, by the terms of the 1984 Sino-British Agreement on the Future of Hong Kong, China will resume full sovereignty over the territory, which will become a Special Administrative Region" with a high degree of autonomy". The Agreement stipulates that there will be no change for fifty years and that the Region will be allowed to continue as before with its own legal system and lifestyle. This is the concept of "one country, two systems".

1:2

The repression of the pro-Democracy movement in China in June 1989 has caused the people of Hong Kong to question whether this concept can work and to feel great anxiety about their future. The Media in the UK and in Hong Kong have given wide expression to this feeling of insecurity. The BCC has also received a number of representations directly from respected christian partners in Hong Kong, in particular the Cardinal Bishop of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Christian Council, Hong Kong Christian Service, and the Hong Kong Christian Institute.

1:3

We have every reason to believe that these representations are a careful attempt to report accurately the feelings and hopes of a substantial body of opinion in Hong Kong. The demands they contain are put forward as reasonable and legitimate, and are based on the sovereignty Britain has exercised over Hong Kong during the last one hundred years, and the fact that Britain will continue to hold sole sovereignty over the territory until 1997.

2. The Message.

2:1

The representations that have reached the BCC are remarkable in their unanimity. Events in China during May/June 1989 appear to have concentrated attention on three basic demands:

a.The enactment in Hong Kong of a Bill of Rights.

b.Rapid progress towards democratic Government directly elected by the people of Hong Kong.

c.The restoration to all British Passport Holders in Hong Kong of the full rights of citizenship, including the right of entry to and abode in the United Kingdom, and the clear acceptance by the British Government of its responsibility for all other people lawfully resident in Hong Kong.

2:2

In a letter sent jointly by the BCC and the Catholic Bishops Conference for England and Wales to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, these demands were drawn to the attention of Her Majesty's Government. They were commended as authentic expressions of Hong Kong opinion which deserve careful attention and a considered response. A copy of this correspondence is attached as an Appendix,

1