5.
The blunt truth is that China has always
had the capacity to intervene decisively in
Hong Kong's affairs.
difference to that.
for two reasons.
1997 makes no serious
They have never done so
One is that it would have
breached China's international legal
obligations. The other is that it would
destroy an economic dynamo increasingly
important for China. Both of these factors
will be as powerful in the years after 1997
as they have been in the past. In that lies
Hong Kong's best surety for the future.
6.
It is unrealistic to expect the Basic
Law to be exactly as we want. It is after
all, a Chinese law designed to operate both
for Hong Kong and for the relationship
between Hong Kong and mainland China. Yet
the bulk of that law, perhaps 95%
of it, faithfully reflects the text of the
Joint Declaration, painstakingly negotiated
between the British and Chinese
Governments.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.