TNAG-2879-FCO40-4151-Agreements-between-the-Hong-Kong-Special-Administrative-Regi-1993 — Page 162

Wice 37089 RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

13 MAY 1993

DESK OFFICER INDEX

REGISTRY

PA Action Take:

CONFIDENTIAL

(14)

File

FROM: P F Ricketts

Hong Kong Department

DATE: 12 May 1993

cc: Miss Brooks,

Legal Counsellor

Mr Neale,

B2 Division

Home Office

Mr Parkinson, MVD

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE UK AND HONG KONG AFTER 1997

1.

Hong Kong will, on 1 July 1997, cease to be a dependent territory of the United Kingdom and will become a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. The agreement relating to the transfer of sovereignty, the Joint Declaration, allows for the continuation of all the international rights and obligations currently enjoyed by Hong Kong, as agreed between the UK and PRC Governments. I enclose a copy.

2.

Hong Kong's international relations are the responsibility of the United Kingdom and so Hong Kong has not entered into treaties of its own but has relied on the application to it of the UK's treaties or of Commonwealth arrangements. Their application to Hong Kong will be unable to survive the transfer of sovereignty. We have therefore proposed to the Chinese authorities, that Hong Kong should negotiate its own Visa Abolition Agreements based on an agreed model, under entrustment from the UK. I enclose a copy of the model Visa Abolition Agreement. Once each treaty is initialled we then seek then seek agreement from the Chinese side that the treaty can continue in force after 1997. The treaty is then signed by Hong Kong Government.

3.

Unfortunately, such treaties cannot be put into place before 1997 in the case of the United Kingdom, since one part of the territory of the UK cannot enter into legally binding agreements with another part of that territory. Additionally the PRC would be very suspicious of any treaty negotiated between the present Hong Kong Government and the

They would assume that it had been negotiated under duress. Hong Kong have therefore suggested that we should proceed to negotiate treaties on the basis of the relevant model texts already agreed with the Chinese, and then seek Chinese agreement that the Chief Executive of the SAR Government should be authorised to sign the treaties as soon as possible after 1 July 1997. Hong Kong propose to send a negotiating team to London this September to negotiate the draft treaties.

CONFIDENTIAL