TNAG-2733-FCO40-3939-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-1993 — Page 73

100

f

not

prepared to give away our principles in order to sign a

piece of

A bad agreement What would it be worth? paper.

would be far worse than no agreement.

We believe that the people of Hong Kong deserve no

fairly legislature,

179.

less

than

a

elected.

credible

and

openly

Anything less than that would surely undermine

the rule of law, and that rule of law is essential to the

maintenance

argument

of

Hong

Kong's prosperity

and freedom.

The

fuses

together

what

is right

what is moral, if

180.

but the

hedgehog

you like - with what is expedient.

A Greek poet wrote that the fox knows many things,

knows one big thing.

we know one big

thing

in here

this Chinese

city.

We know that a free

the under

law works,

and

we know that

in

society governed

freedom must be firmly rooted, as it is

for example

the Joint Declaration. otherwise we will spend our future,

or

rather you will spend your future, forever looking over

your shoulders.

Why keep a bird on a string unless you

want to tug it back from time to time?

181.

We passionately want Hong

Kong

to have the best

possible relationship

with China before 1997 so that it can

prosper

and

strengthens

grow

in the

in

strength

as

China

prospers

and

years

ahead.

But at the end of a

century

in which again

and

we again

have seen hope and

promise So often turn to ashes when men and women failed to