TNAG-2716-FCO40-3922-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 151

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Sir John Stanley

94.

The Governor of Hong Kong's proposals for democracy in Hong

Kong, both at the local level and at the LegCo level have been placed fully

in the public domain. I would like to ask you whether in your view, as

independent legal experts there are any specific proposals within them that

are, in your view, in breach of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law as

the Chinese Government have alleged?

In relation to the

(Mr Duffy) Perhaps I could begin on this issue.

proposals that Governor Patten has put forward these need to be assessed

against the framework of the mutual obligations of China and Britain under

the Treaty which the Joint Declaration is. The Joint Declaration clearly

indicated a framework of measures which are going to be in force in Hong

Kong after sovereignty is transferred in 1997. That includes specifically

in Annex 1.1 to the Joint Declaration that the legislature of the Hong Kong

Special Administrative Region shall be constituted by elections.

In 1984

of course that was not the manner in which the legislature in Hong Kong was

constituted and one is in a period of transition. The Basic Law itself

contains certain transitional elements though they need to be developed.

The position of the British Government is that by virtue of paragraph 4 of

the Joint Declaration, as has been mentioned in the evidence that the

Foreign Office gave, Britain has the responsibility for the administration

of Hong Kong between 1984 and 1997. That responsibility includes a

responsibility to administer it so that it will move in the direction of

the Joint Declaration and in the direction in other words of having a

legislature which is constituted by elections. From that point of view it

seems to me that the proposals that have been put forward are reasonable

proposals that fit within that framework and which could not be shown to be

any breach of the obligations of Her Majesty's Government under the Joint

Quite the reverse. The proposals that have been made are

Declaration.

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