FROM THE HIGH COMMISSIONER
The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG
President
Court of Appeal
BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION
CANBERRA
6 August 1991
Sydney
GPO Box 3
NSW 2001
Dear Mr Justice Kirby,
Thank you for your letter of 19 July enclosing copies of your papers on Hong Kong. I am forwarding copies to those concerned in London and shall pass on to you any detailed comments they may have, as soon as I receive them.
In the meantime however I can't resist offering some purely personal observations. I was sorry to read your negative comments about British policy towards Hong Kong. The underlying reality of the situation is that 92% of the land area of Hong Kong must revert to China when the lease expires in 1997. The remaining 8% is not viable on its own. This has an obvious bearing on the applicability of the principle of self-determination, although as an old UN hand I recognise that there is extensive room for argument among lawyers (and laymen) about the precise implications. We negotiated long and hard to ensure that Hong Kong reverted to China under an international agreement and that this happened on the best possible terms for the people of Hong Kong.
As you acknowledge, Hong Kong's destiny is bound up with China's. This is a historical and geographical reality. Any viable future for Hong Kong must depend on successful and secure co-existence with China. That objective was enshrined in the Joint Declaration. The Declaration constitutes a much better agreement than many thought could be obtained, and, as
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