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FROM:
Miss A
Legal Cou13 11
сть
28/~
DATE:
8 May 1992.
CC:
Mr Ricketts, Mr Cox, HKD
HKD
:
مر
1
Mr Bunten
HKD
BOUNDARIES OF THE HKSAR
·
attached
] I refer to your minute of 5 May copied to me and to Mr Ricketts's manuscript query. The question is whether, assuming the PRC were to decide that Shenzen would be come part of the HKSAR, the Shenzen residents would be 'local residents', in other words, residents of the HKSAR with the same privileges as any other residents of the HKSAR.
2.
The Joint Declaration does not refer to the boundaries of the future HKSAR, for the very good reason that the boundaries issue has been a long sensitive issue with the Chinese. While the Sino-British Joint Declaration, paragraph 1 defines what is the Hong Kong area, there is no link in the Joint Declaration between this and the area which will constitute the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. If the National People's Congress were to take a decision to amend their decision of 4 April 1990 so as to add Shenzen to the area of the HKSAR, then I do not see why Shenzen residents would not be cOME 'local residents' of the HKSAR enjoying the same benefits as any others bearing in mind the distinction between ordinary residence and permanent residence.
3. However, there would be many complications, for example, the laws of Shenzen would not be the same laws as those which applied in the rest of the HKSAR. Another example is that the undertakings guaranteeing that the current social and economic systems in Hong Kong will remain unchanged ater 1997, together with the present lifestyle, would surely be meaningless when applied to Shenzen.
4.
If there is a serious possibility that Shenzen might become part of the HKSAR, I will look into this question in more detail; but I understand that it is merely a rumour.
Shelagh Book,
AEL AOA
S Brooks
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