TNAG-2716-FCO40-3922-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 157

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convincing one.

102.

then one

Chairman

I want to ask you two more questions on the specifics and

or two broader questions. For the record, are the Annexes to the

Joint Declaration part of the treaty? I am asking that because the word

"election" features in the Annexes.

(Dr Slinn) Yes. Paragraph 8 of the Joint Declaration says, "This

Joint Declaration and its Annexes shall be equally binding.

the Joint Declaration itself.

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That is in

(Mr Duffy) Chairman, there is also the reference to that in Article

3.12 of the Joint Declaration in respect of the obligations of China 50

years after the hand-over, which expressly refers to the Annex.

103.

That is crystal clear. On a slightly broader question, do

you agree with the Foreign Office legal witnesses that China is

potentially, or may be actually in breach of the Joint Declaration as the

days go by and they are unable to deliver in terms of co-operation overall

these legal, national and international matters?

(Mr Duffy) Under the Joint Declaration itself in Article 4, the final

phrase is that the Government of the People's Republic of China will give

its co-operation in respect of the United Kingdom's administration up until

1997. That co-operation is spelt out further in Annex II, which deals with

the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group, and the relevant paragraph of that

which creates the obligation is Article 5(b), which specifies that there.

will need to be closer co-operation and intensification over "action to

assist the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to maintain and develop

economic and cultural relations", and this is the crucial phrase, "and

conclude agreements on these matters with states, regions and relevant

international organisations."

Chairman, in the modern world, any state or

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