HONG KONG'S ROLE IN U.S.-CHINA POLICY
by Martin L. Lasater
On December 19, 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang signed in Beijing an historic joint declaration returning the Crown Colony of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1. 1997. The draft text of the agreement on the future of Hong Kong had been initialed by representatives of both governments in September after two years of intense negotiations.
The agreement covers Hong Kong Island, ceded in perpetuity to London by the Chinese Government in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking; the southern part of Kowloon peninsula and Stonecutters Island, ceded in perpetuity in the 1860 Convention of Peking; and the New Territories, leased to Britain for 99 years in the Convention of 1898. It was the expiration date of the lease for t he New Territories, which comprise 92 percent of the total land of the colony, that prompted London to enter into negotiations with the People's Republic of China on Hong Kong's future.
Britain first raised the question of the expiration 'of the land lease s in March 1979, but serious discussion did not begin until 1982. In January of that year Sir Humphrey Atkins, Lord Privy Seal, visited Beijing and was given an outline of Chinese concerns. In September Prime Minister Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping held a poi n ted discussion in Beijing, in which the PRC leader bluntly said that China would regain sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 and Mrs. Thatcher emphasized the importance of Honk Kong's links to Britain if that city were to maintain its prosperity. The two le aders issued a joint statement on September 24, which said:
Today the leaders of both countries held far-reaching talks in a friendly atmosphere on the future of Hong Kong. Both leaders made clear their respective positions on this subject.M artin L. Lasater is Director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C. This paper was presented at the fourth annual conference on Asian International Affairs, November 7-8, 1986, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. ISSN 0272-1155. Copyright 1986 by The Heritage Foundation.
They agreed to enter talks through diplomatic channels following the visit with the common aim of maintaining the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. I
Talks over the future of Hong Kong began immediately. Although the negotiations were complex and at times bitter, there were essentially two stages. In the first stage, roughly September 1982 to June 1983, the PRC made known and London eventually accepted the fundamental principle of Chinese sovereignty ove r Hong Kong in 1997. Once that had been established, the second more detailed phase of the negotiations got underway. In this stage, which lasted until September 1984, the British and the Chinese first wrestled with the issue of a British administrative ro l e after 1997--an idea that London finally relinquished in September 1983. Then came an exhaustive but relatively harmonious period of negotiations in which the British educated the Chinese on the complexities of ruling Hong Kong and the conditions necessa ry for its continued prosperity. In this final stage of negotiations, the PRC demonstrated a great deal of pragmatism.
The period from January to September 1984 was a difficul t one for Hong Kong, which had been denied a role in the negotiations by the Chinese. Riots, the crash of the stock market, the relocation of key Hong Kong businessmen, runs on banks and various enterprises, insulting treatment given to members of Hong Ko n g's Executive Council by both Great Britain and China, and the unilateral setting by the Chinese of a September 1984 deadline for an agreement--all contributed to Hong Kong's anxiety. Nonetheless, the negotiations went forward smoothly as the last issues were worked out,between the British and Chinese.
The Hong Kong Agreement reflects both the vagueness of principle, which the Chinese initially preferred, and the considerable administrative detail, which the British were able to insert after a great deal'o f effort on their pa