Sir Edward YoudeYour Excellency, Honourable Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils:
This evening, I speak to you on a momentous occasion.
Yesterday, in Peking, Premier Zhao Ziyang and I signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong. It is fitting that this historic document should have been signed by two Prime Ministers. These signatures testify to the total commitment at the highest level of our two Governments to implement the Agreement. Those signatures were also the culmination of a process which began two years ago, when I visited Peking and Hong Kong.
During those two years, we have conducted taxing and complex negotiations and I pay tribute to Sir Geoffrey Howe and his able team of advisers. The aim agreed between the British and Chinese Governments was to preserve Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. For us on the British side, this has a very special meaning. Throughout the negotiations, my first concern was the future well-being of Hong Kong and her people.
Britain has been responsible for Hong Kong for nearly 150 years. It is an association which is a source of justifiable [end p1] pride to us all, and British administration has provided the necessary legal and constitutional foundation for what has been achieved.
But Hong Kong's growth and success, especially in the post-war years, even in difficult times, has been due above all to the remarkable talents and energy of the people who live here. Their character, their achievements, have been so striking that our prime commitment could only be to them. We were determined to do all we could to preserve what they have built by their own endeavour.
We sought a realistic framework; one which took account of Chinese interests, but against that background we sought arrangements which would provide the fullest possible assurances that Hong Kong people could continue to develop their talents and apply their energy; that what I would call Hong Kong's genius could continue to flourish and that it could make a significant contribution to the development and modernisation of China as a whole.
I believe we have secured such arrangements and that the Agreement is a good one. It provides in considerable detail and in binding form for the maintenance of those things which are essential to your unique society. As a result, the people of Hong Kong can, I believe, face the future with confidence.
The assessment has shown that they regard the Agreement as a whole acceptable. The process of assessment [end p2] was real and it is important. Parliament would have expected no less before approving the intention of the Government to sign the Agreement.
I welcome the fact that the Assessment Office Report has given a clear account of the reservations and concerns which people quite understandably feel on individual points. This will be of great value to us when we begin the task of putting the Agreement into effect.
The success of any international agreement, of course, depends upon the good faith and the commitment of the signatories. I bring to you the strongest possible commitment on the part of Her Majesty's Government. We shall do our utmost to ensure that the Agreement works and I bring from my talks in Peking with the most senior Chinese leaders a similar commitment. They assured me that for their part that the Agreement would be faithfully implemented. Indeed, Premier Zhao Ziyang assured me yesterday in Peking that it was the tradition of the Chinese nation to act in good faith, to live up to its international commitments, and that China would prove its words with its deeds. Chairman Deng Xiaoping confirmed this.
Of course, you still have your concerns and I understand them. On nationality questions, for instance, that we would find a way to allow all Hong Kong British Dependent Territory citizens born before 1 July 1997 to continue to travel on British passports and to enjoy British consular protection in third countries. I know you are [end p3] anxious that other countries may not accept the new British passports after 1997. The British Government regards it as part of its continuing responsibility for Hong Kong to explain to all the countries concerned that there will be no justification for imposing new restrictions on the freedom of entry of Hong Kong people holding the new form of passport, and I believe we shall receive the necessary cooperation. Indeed, I am very struck by the warm international reception which has been given to this Agreement.
Another concern is the basic law. I fully agree about its importance. The terms of the Agreement stipulate that the very full and detailed provisions in the Joint Declaration and its First Annex will be embodied in the basic law. My discussions in Peking have confirmed that the Chinese Government are fully aware of the importance of the basic law and of the concern in Hong Kong that people here should be consulted about it. Premier Zhao Ziyang told me that in the drafting of the basic law the views of Hong Kong people will be solicited on a wide basis and that the basic law would be drafted and promulgated not later than 1990. Until 1997, Britain remains fully responsible for the administration of Hong Kong. We feel, as we have always felt, a deep commitment to the people of the Territory, and now that the Agreement is signed I pledge Her Majesty's Government's earnest efforts in the years to 1997 to ensure that Hong Kong continues to have a stable and responsive Government administering the Territory in accordance with the interests and the wishes of [end p4] its people. During that time, you will want and need movement towards more representative government. Hong Kong people must be able to assume responsibility for running their own affairs within the framework of the Agreement. At the same time, we must avoid sudden and dramatic changes which might have a disturbing effect. We need to build but to build carefully and securely.
Hong Kong, more than most places, looks outwards for its livelihood. It finds ready markets in the developed world. It is natural that traders and investors should have watched carefully the negotiations and their outcome. They wanted to be assured that their investments would be protected; that their sources of supply would remain reliable; and that their freedom to move funds freely in and out would remain untrammelled. All these have been taken care of in the Agreement. Indeed, the Governments of Hong Kong's major trading partners have already welcomed the Agreement, for example, the United States, the European Community, Japan, Canada and Australia, and in many cases these governments have pledged themselves to help in its implementation.
The Agreement preserves the essentials for Hong Kong's international and economic relationships; Hong Kong's freedom to pursue its own economic policy in accordance with its own needs; the free enterprise system; free trade policies, and the free port; Hong Kong's ability to retain its separate position within the GATT and other multilateral trade arrangements, and its freedom to develop its own economic and trade relations with all states and regions; [end p5] a freely convertible currency; freedom to pursue prudent budgetary policies determined by Hong Kong, in accordance with Hong Kong's own needs; the right of companies and individuals to own and dispose of property and the protection of these rights in law; and above all, individual rights and freedoms which are the essence of your way of life.
I can assure Hong Kong's partners around the world that the free and dynamic business environment which has attracted them in such large numbers for so many years will continue to flourish. Hong Kong is a going concern, with a future stretching into the next century and beyond.
We could not have achieved such a good Agreement without the support and advice of many people in Hong Kong and speaking here tonight among so many old friends, I should like to express my thanks. I should like to pay tribute to Sir Edward Youdethe Governor for the firmness of his leadership and the wisdom of his advice; to the Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils under the distinguished guidance of Sir S.-Y. Chung. They have played a crucial role throughout this difficult period in Hong Kong's history. The advice offered by EXCO throughout the negotiating process was of the greatest value. I can recall many occasions over the past two years in the Cabinet Room of No. 10 Downing Street when we discussed crucial issues together. All members of UMELCO made known their own hopes and fears and those of the people of Hong Kong, as reflected to them. Your frankness, determination and sense of public duty was of great value in the negotiations. [end p6]
I should also like to pay warm tribute to the exemplary manner in which the Hong Kong Public Service continued to perform its duties, and to the patience and forebearance of the people of Hong Kong as a whole. It cannot have been easy to live with the knowledge that the whole future of the Territory and its people was being discussed, as it had to be, in conditions of confidentiality. We felt deeply the responsibilities of the trust that they placed in us.
One task has been completed with the signing of the Joint Declaration, but this is not the end. The Agreement on its own cannot ensure a successful future for Hong Kong. So much lies, as it has always done, in your own hands. You, the Hong Kong people, have earned the respect of the entire world for the astonishing success story which you have written. You contributed resilience, imagination and sheer hard work. Above all, you have shown the courage to adapt to changing circumstances.
We have over twelve years to prepare together for the changes which lie ahead. I believe you will rise to the challenge and that the spirit, the enterprise, and the prosperity of Hong Kong will flourish and will endure.