ffect of the Hong Kong settlement on U.S.-PRC-ROC relations requires some sense of the wide range of reactions to the Agreement. British officials believe that China would have assumed sovereignty in 1997 with or without an agreement. The fact that the PRC was unwilling to extend the lease on the New Territories made the British position on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and Stonecutters Island untenable. Given that situation, the British feel the agreement they reached is in the interests of the people of Hong Kong. officially, London said:
Her Majesty's Government believe that the agreement is a good one. They strongly commend it to the people of Hong Kong and to Parliament ... Her Majesty's Government are confident that the agreement provide s the necessary assurances about Hong Kong's future to allow the territory to continue to flourish, and to maintain its unique role in the world as a major trading and financial centre.5
British officials involved in negotiating with the Chinese concluded that the PRC really intends for Hong Kong to be autonomous after 1997, but subject to the PRC Constitution and the Basic Law. The National People's Congress, of course, is the final arbiter of what that Law will mean.
For their part, the Chinese continue to be suspicious of anything that appears to challenge their sovereignty over Hong Kong. Gradually, however, this concern has become more of a bargaining ploy than an issue of substance. Beijing has let it be known that during the transition it wants to b e consulted frequently and early on major issues, especially political developments. Chinese State Councilor Ji Pengfei told a delegation from Hong Kong on December 20, 1985: "Though minor changes can be made, there should be no major changes in Hong Kong during the transition period. Major changes can be made only after consultations. V,6
Ji, who is also director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office under the State Council, told the group that the Chinese government had not formed a fixed idea as to what political system should be practised in Hong Kong after 1997. He said: "It is necessary to proceed from Hong Kong's actual conditions and consider carefully how to apply the principle of 'one country, two systems.' After we listen to the opinions of the Hong Kong people from various quarters,5 . "A Draf t Agreement-on the Future of Hong Kong," p. 8. 6. "Ji Pengfei on Hong Kong's Basic Law," Beiiing Review January 13, 1986, p. 5.
6we will consider this issue and decide what system will be practised in Hong Kong."7 Ji's remarks in December 1985 came at the end of a heated controversy between London and Beijing over whether some members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council could be dir ectly elected. Since October 1985, the Legislative Council has comprised the Governor, three ex-officio members, seven nominated official members, twenty-two appointed members, and, for the first time, twenty-four elected members. Of the elected members, t welve are from an electoral college with twelve constituencies and twelve are from nine functional constituencies. Beijing's top representative in Hong Kong, Xinhua news agency director Xu Jiatun, condemned the British move to establish representative gov ernment and warned of "unfortunate" consequences for the colony.8 Xuls remarks caused the local stock market's Hang Seng index to fall dramatically, panicked many people, and provoked cries of protest from local citizens about PRC interference. The strong PRC reaction against representative government derived partly from a desire to avoid confrontational politics, which direct elections might bring. China fears that direct elections would lead to the creation of political parties in Hong Kong, which in tur n would make it necessary for the Communist Party to become public and openly compete for office instead of working in the background. At present, one of the most delicate issues being discusssed in London, Beijing, and Hong Kong is how to ensure that the PRC1s Basic Law, which is being drafted by Jils Basic Law Drafting Committee, -converges wi