TNAG-2769-FCO40-3986-Hong-Kong-and-the-media-interviews--press-briefings-and-the--1994 — Page 73

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Hong Kong on 1st July 1997, the community itself would enjoy a high degree of autonomy and would keep its way of life. "One country, two systems" was Deng Xiao Ping's vision a goal which Hong Kong and Britain could readily share.

5.

The Joint Declaration - the treaty signed by Britain and China spelt out Hong Kong's freedoms and values and the way to secure them.

It promised an

executive answerable to the legislature, and a

legislature wholly composed through election.

Admittedly, it did not say those elections should be open and fair. Could anyone at the negotiating table have thought otherwise? Nor does it spell out how these elections should be conducted.

6. Here lies the nub of our present argument with China. Some think we should be arguing with China about quickening the pace of democracy in Hong Kong. I understand why they think this, but do not believe that this would have been a possible option so late in tha day. The principle of a growing degree of democracy is already agreed with China, and set out in the Basic Law China's mini-constitution for Hong Kong after 1997. What we die in effect debatiny is wileikar vi mul tha agreed process of democratisation should be credible and fair. It was with that aim that we put forward, in October 1992, very modest proposals (which we were always willing to discuss with China) on the detailed electoral arrangements for Hong Kong in 1994 and 1995.

7.

Let me summarise where we are, just over a year after we first put forward these ideas. We did not dream up this issue at the last moment. By mid-1992, the precise voting arrangements for the last elections