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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
One, and most important, is the obvious sincerity with which this agreement has been negotiated on both sides and the willingness of both sides to spell out in detail what must have been some extremely difficult points for them to accept. The genius of British and Chinese compromise is evident throughout the pages of the agreement.
The second point not enshrined in the agreement was spelled out by Sir Geoffrey Howe at his news conference at the United Nations on the 26 September 1984. He stated that the choice before us is either this agreement or no agreement at all.
Taking these two points together: On the one hand the sincerity of the contracting parties which in itself is a promise by both contracting parties to do everything possible to implement the agreement as written, combined with the very stark choice given to us by the contracting parties, means that really we have no choice. We must accept the agreement even if there are misgivings about certain details of the agreements. For my taste, for instance, there are too many 'mays'. The S.A.R. may be able to do this or may be able to do that instead of the S.A.R. will be able to do this and will be able to do that. It also worries me that the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will apparently be taken over, including the declarations relevant to Hong Kong made by the United Kingdom in respect to these Covenants where especially paragraphs 8 and 10 on the Civil and Political Rights could cause considerable problems for aliens and the definition of local citizenship, and paragraphs 2 and 3 on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights could cause major problems in relation to the rights of women and trade unions. I think also that the limitation on land sales of 50 hectares per annum may well drive the land price up and it would have been better if there had been an option for land leases, against payment, to be extended beyond the 50 years. But as the prospect of no agreement would really be horrendous, we must accept, and I think we can accept with a reasonably light heart and with some considerable gratitude, what the negotiators have produced for us.
The very heavy question as to whether the good will shown by the People's Republic of China will remain over the next thirteen years will be answered very rapidly by the negotiations for the drafting of the basic law. If China listens to us Hong Kong people during this process, if they are guided absolutely by the words in the draft agreement, if they show willingness to take our advice, then I believe that there will be no doubt that the 50 years after 1997 will show even greater advances for Hong Kong than the last 40 years. However, a word of warning: Also the reverse is true. If China during the negotiations for the drafting of the basic law ignores Hong Kong peoples' advice, does not follow the wording of the draft agreement or tries to reinterpret the spirit of it, then Hong Kong people will vote with their feet and no matter what the British or Chinese Governments do after that, by 1997 Hong Kong will only be a shell.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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What is equally as important is that both the Governments of the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China make sure that all the other Nations in the world accept the economic autonomy of Hong Kong, China. Because it will be no use even though the Draft Agreement specifies that we can join the G.A.T.T. and bilaterally engage in trade negotiations with other countries, if those other countries do not recognize us as an S.A.R. and accord us the right to issue certificates of origin, make our own trading arrangements, and allow our people to travel freely, especially into those countries who do not yet recognize the P.R.C.
But we must also all of us understand that making this agreement work is up to us Hong Kong people. China and Britain can only give us the framework, and I, all of us, must make sure that the agreement is implemented as written. We must now make Hong Kong absolutely indispensable to the People's Republic of China. We must now show them that we are willing to help in the process and must make Hong Kong even more successful than it has been so far. First and foremost, we must all hold together and pull together. There must be no divisiveness, no factional fighting, no right-wing or left-wing extremists. In the last analysis it is up to us to put flesh and blood onto the words of the agreement.
I, personally, am very optimistic. I believe in the last six months or so there has been a pulling together of all factions and pressure groups and individuals, a process which is noticeable also in this Council, and if this continues then by 1997 we will have a caring Government who will understand what makes Hong Kong tick and who will be worthy of the special treatment Beijing will accord to us.
Hong Kong now has the chance of becoming the commercial capital of the whole of China. Hong Kong now has the chance of showing leadership not just to China but to the whole world, and I appeal to everyone, those born here, those who came here in the 50's, those who came here in the 60's and 70's: Let's not lose this chance. Let's pull together and set the world an example they can follow to solve other now apparently intractable problems.
Sir, as you may gather from what I have said, I support the motion. But if I had drafted the motion, I would have added the words 'and urges all Hong Kong citizens now to stand together and each one to do all with their power and ability to make this agreement work'. Thank you.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in Cantonese):---Mr. Chairman, as a Chinese living in Hong Kong, I am very happy that the sovereignty is going to be restored to China. The problem of Hong Kong is a question left over from the past and this problem is being settled in a peaceful manner. This is, in fact, something that we can be proud of and I would like to pay tribute to the Governments of China and Britain for their effort. The joint declaration is very important to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. In the draft agreement, the interests of Hong Kong people have been taken into account including that of education,
Page 112 of 233
186
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
One, and most important, is the obvious sincerity with which this agreement has been negotiated on both sides and the willingness of both sides to spell out in detail what must have been some extremely difficult points for them to accept. The genius of British and Chinese compromise is evident throughout the pages
of the agreement.
The second point not enshrined in the agreement was spelled out by Sir Geoffrey Howe at his news conference at the United Nations on the 26 September 1984. He stated that the choice before us is either this agreement or no agreement at all.
Taking these two points together: On the one hand the sincerity of the contracting parties which in itself is a promise by both contracting parties to do everything possible to implement the agreement as written, combined with the very stark choice given to us by the contracting parties, means that really we have no choice. We must accept the agreement even if there are misgivings about certain details of the agreements. For my taste, for instance, there are too many 'mays'. The S.A.R. may be able to do this or may be able to do that instead of the S.A.R. will be able to do this and will be able to do that. It also worries me that the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will apparently be taken over, including the declarations relevant to Hong Kong made by the United Kingdom in respect to these Covenants where especially paragraphs 8 and 10 on the Civil and Political Rights could cause considerable problems for aliens and the definition of local citizenship, and paragraphs 2 and 3 on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights could cause major problems in relation to the rights of women and trade unions. I think also that the limitation on land sales of 50 hectares per annum may well drive the land price up and it would have been better if there had been an option for land leases, against payment, to be extended beyond the 50 years. But as the prospect of no agreement would really be horrendous, we must accept, and I think we can accept with a reasonably light heart and with some considerable gratitude, what the negotiators have produced for us.
The very heavy question as to whether the good will shown by the People's Republic of China will remain over the next thirteen years will be answered very rapidly by the negotiations for the drafting of the basic law. If China listens to us Hong Kong people during this process, if they are guided absolutely by the words in the draft agreement, if they show willingness to take our advice, then I believe that there will be no doubt that the 50 years after 1997 will show even greater advances for Hong Kong than the last 40 years. However, a word of warning: Also the reverse is true. If China during the negotiations for the drafting of the basic law ignores Hong Kong peoples' advice, does not follow the wording of the draft agreement or tries to reinterpret the spirit of it, then Hong Kong people will vote with their feet and no matter what the British or Chinese Governments do after that, by 1997 Hong Kong will only be a shell.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 112 of 233
187
What is equally as important is that both the Governments of the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China make sure that all the other Nations in the world accept the economic autonomy of Hong Kong, China. Because it will be no use even though the Draft Agreement specifies that we can join the G.A.T.T. and bilaterally engage in trade negotiations with other countries, if those other countries do not recognize us as an S.A.R. and accord us the right to issue certificates of origin, make our own trading arrangements, and allow our people to travel freely, especially into those countries who do not yet recognize the P.R.C.
you
But we must also all of us understand that making this agreement work is up to us Hong Kong people. China and Britain can only give us the framework, and I, all of us, must make sure that the agreement is implemented as written. We must now make Hong Kong absolutely indispensable to the People's Republic of China. We must now show them that we are willing to help in the process and must make Hong Kong even more successful than it has been so far. First and foremost, we must all hold together and pull together. There must be no divisiveness, no factional fighting, no right-wing or left-wing extremists. In the last analysis it is up to us to put flesh and blood onto the words of the agreement.
I, personally, am very optimistic. I believe in the last six months or so there has been a pulling together of all factions and pressure groups and individuals, a process which is noticable also in this Council, and if this continues then by 1997 we will have a caring Government who will understand what makes Hong Kong tick and who will be worthy of the special treatment Beijing will accord to us.
Hong Kong now has the chance of becoming the commercial capital of the whole of China. Hong Kong now has the chance of showing leadership not just to China but to the whole world, and I appeal to everyone, those born here, those who came here in the 50's, those who came here in the 60's and 70's: Let's not lose this chance. Let's pull together and set the world an example they can follow to solve other now apparently intractable problems.
Sir, as you may gather from what I have said, I support the motion. But if I had drafted the motion, I would have added the words 'and urges all Hong Kong citizens now to stand together and each one to do all with their power and ability to make this agreement works'. Thank you.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in Cantonese):---Mr. Chairman, as a Chinese living in Hong Kong, I am very happy that the sovereignty is going to be restored to China. The problem of Hong Kong is a question left over from the past and this problem is being settled in a peaceful manner. This is, in fact, something that we can be proud of and I would like to pay tribute to the Governments of China and Britain for their effort. The joint declaration is very important to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. In the draft agreement, the interests of Hong Kong people have been taken into account including that of education,
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