TNAG-2118-FCO40-3024-Future-of-Hong-Kong-general-1990 — Page 45

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

SPEECH TO THE SOCIETY OF CONSERVATIVE

LAWYERS

HONG KONG: UNIQUE PROBLEM, UNIQUE SOLUTION

1.

In every sense, there has never been

another colony like Hong Kong. Because of

its extraordinary historical background, it

has always been inevitable in practical

terms that on the 1st of July 1997 it would

revert to Chinese sovereignty. And it is

difficult to imagine a more dramatic

contrast between Hong Kong's driving,

pulsing economy, the quintessence of

capitalism and its socialist counterpart on

the mainland. For years, the fear was that

when the handover took place, China would

simply absorb Hong Kong, and that

extraordinary chemistry that has made Hong

Kong uniquely exhilarating would simply

dissolve.

2.

It was our spectacular achievement to

reach agreement in the Joint Declaration for

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