DRAFT
On 20th January, 1988 in the House of Commons, the then British Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, said: -
"We are creating conditions for the transfer of responsibility for an entire community, while preserving its present systems, human rights and lifestyle".
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"Lifestyle", the focus of this part of the paper, goes way beyond issues of law and administration, though it includes them too. Article 5 of the Basic Law provides that Hong Kong's "way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years" beyond 1997. For it to remain unchanged, I believe that it is important that it be better known and more clearly understood in China and in the West. But there is another point: Basic Law is based on the binding international treaty (the Joint Declaration) between the U.K. and the PRC. It provides explicitly that Hong Kong's way of life shall remain unchanged until 2047. The U.K. role in this particular part of the project must therefore be particularly clear. I would like to think that the British Council and other British institutions have a facilitating and supportive role to play over the next 57 years. The first step is to give definition to Sir Geoffrey Howe's words: What are those present systems? What are those human rights? What extra measures need to be taken to preserve the existing ways? How does one define the success of attempts to do so?
These are some of the issues which planning for this part of the project needs to address.
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The agenda must be set by Hong Kong people, with this part of the project being recognisably Hong Kong's own. It could encompass all aspects of Hong Kong's "lifestyle": What it means for Hong Kong people, and how the expertise Hong Kong has generated has and could benefit other parts of the world in a time of change. It must be Hong Kong people who identify for themselves the aspects of "lifestyle" which need to be better understood. Most importantly, this project will be of greatest use to Hong Kong if it reflects the co-ordinated priorities of a spectrum of Hong Kong society, and if its aims are backed explicitly by the British government. I have not yet raised this in London. Moreover, a local base for the initiative will give the project credence and emphasis which would otherwise be lacking. This will assist in financial, substantive and organisational terms.
A taste of Hong Kong was captured well in an article entitled Hong Kong
The Case for Optimism by Simon Murray. He wrote: -
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"When I arrived, those 24 years ago, everybody seemed to be making
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