ENG-1984 — Page 373

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History

THE first years of the 1980s marked a historic turning point for Hong Kong. In the post-war years, the dynamic drive of Hong Kong's people and their determination to survive continual challenges - mainly caused by external influences - enabled the territory to make rapid economic and social progress and become a leading international manufacturing, trading and financial centre despite an almost complete absence of natural resources. But with the advent of the 1980s, unanswered questions regarding the future of Hong Kong, after the expiry in 1997 of the lease of the New Territories, began to cause concern.

When the British Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, visited Peking in September 1982, she and Chinese leaders agreed to enter into talks on the subject through diplomatic channels with the common aim of maintaining Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. Following initial exchanges, formal rounds of talks between British and Chinese delega- tions began in Peking in July 1983, with the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Edward Youde, taking part as a member of the British delegation.

As the talks stretched into 1984, political uncertainty weighed heavily on many aspects of life in Hong Kong. Financial markets remained subdued although exports by the manufacturing sector began to rise once more.

In March, 21 unofficial members of the Legislative Council spoke during a lengthy debate the council held on Hong Kong's future. The following month the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Geoffrey Howe, visited Hong Kong, after talking with Chinese leaders in Peking. He announced that it would be unrealistic to expect that the negotiations would produce an agreement providing for continued British adminis- tration after 1997, and the British Government was examining with the Chinese Government arrangements that would secure for Hong Kong, after 1997, a high degree of autonomy under Chinese sovereignty, and that would preserve the way of life in Hong Kong.

Between the rounds of confidential talks, the Governor made five visits to London, on three occasions accompanied by members of the Executive Council, for consultations with British ministers, including the Prime Minister, and officials. A delegation comprising the Unofficial Members of the Legislative and Executive Councils presented a position paper to the British Parliament in May and three Executive Council members visited Peking in June at the invitation of the New China News Agency. Throughout, numerous private groups and delegations from Hong Kong also visited Peking for talks with Chinese leaders on various aspects of the future.

After further talks in Peking in late July, Sir Geoffrey Howe visited Hong Kong again and gave an outline of certain points an agreement was likely to contain.

In mid-September, the negotiators produced a draft agreement on Hong Kong's future for consideration by their respective governments. This draft agreement was initialled in Peking on September 26 by the leader of the British delegation, Sir Richard Evans (the