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two systems" must be shown to have been successfully applied to
Hong Kong if it is to have any chance of appealing to the people
of Taiwan. But despite the importance of the negotiations the
Chinese side would appear to be poorly organized to address them
and the fact that the paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, has so
much vested interest in the ultimate success of the negotiations
has proved to be a mixed blessing as the negotiators have found
the process to be tough and bruising. The negotiations have also
been affected by the fact that the objects of the enterprise, the
people of Hong Kong, have been and continue to be excluded from
the negotiating table. Being more than interested by-standers as
they seek to establish a new political system to meet the needs
of their promised autonomy in 1997, they have much to say that
affects the substance of the negotiations. The purpose of this
article is to explore these issues and to consider their
implications for the remaining crucial years of the transition
to the resumption of Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
The Hong Kong negotiations constitute without doubt the most
important set of bilateral negotiations in which Britain has been
engaged since the Falkland's War. But they have attracted
relatively little attention by politicians or academics. It may
be said that few British interests are involved. After
After all
Britain gains little directly from providing for the government
of Hong Kong and, since the end of empire, the territory has
ceased to be of strategic value for Britain. Yet the British
government is directly responsible for the well-being of the 5.5
million people for whom Hong Kong is their home. These
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