PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED KINGDOM

26 September 1996

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED KINGDOM

19960926 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Malcolm Rifkind, United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon that he had just completed two hours of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qien Qicheng, the fourth time he had conferred with his Chinese counterpart in the past 12 months.

Mr. Rifkind said he had emerged from the meeting with three specific announcements. First, that Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lan Qing would be visiting the United Kingdom this coming November. Second, that the two sides had agreed that the United Kingdom would establish a major Consulate-General housing 180 staff in Hong Kong, its largest such Consulate-General, larger than many Embassies, to be located on Hong Kong's Supreme Court Road. The new Consulate-General would thus emphasize the continuing massive commitment of the United Kingdom to Hong Kong in the years to come. Third, that agreement had been reached on the location and form of the official handover ceremony, marking the end of British and the start of Chinese administration of Hong Kong.

The joint ceremony, inaugurating Hong Kong's new status as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, would take place at midnight on 30 June 1997, Mr. Rifkind said. It would symbolize the joint will of the two countries for a smooth and successful transition that met the aspirations of the population of Hong Kong. It would be a solemn and dignified ceremony attended not only by representatives of the two Governments but by high-level delegations from the rest of the international community. It would be held in the Grand Foyer of the new extension to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with a capacity of more than 4,000 people. The two Joint Liaison Group ambassadors would sign the agreed minute establishing the ceremony in Hong Kong tomorrow; its text would be released after the signing.

Mr. Rifkind had also indicated to the Chinese Foreign Minister that the ceremony would be preceded, at sunset, by a purely British ceremony to be held at the East Tema site on Hong Kong's central waterfront. It would incorporate both civil and military elements commemorating the long-shared history of the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Qien Qicheng had also discussed a number of other bilateral issues during their talks, Mr. Rifkind added. He had raised with Qien Qicheng the Chinese proposals with regard to a provisional Hong Kong legislature, an issue that had always been an area of

difference, and had reiterated the British belief that establishment of such a legislature was both unnecessary and undesirable. Qien Qicheng had responded on the basis of China's known positions.

There had been a range of discussions on other matters, said the Foreign Secretary. On the question of details as the date for the transition approached, there had been an accelerating pace of agreement in recent weeks, including final agreement on the issue of air services, on the continuing application in Hong Kong of multilateral agreements, and on other matters. Much good practical work had been done.

Asked whether the presence at the handover ceremony of Hong Kong's Governor Christopher Patten had been discussed, Mr. Rifkind said such a discussion would have been pointless. The Governor would, of course attend, and the Chinese side had already acknowledged the propriety of Governor Patten's presence.

Asked how important a stumbling-block the issue of the ceremony had been between the two sides, the Foreign Secretary replied that the question had been discussed for several months, the only small point of contention being the form the ceremony would take. There was agreement, reached in a businesslike and satisfactory fashion, that the ceremony should be both solemn and dignified. It would be a very important event, not just for China and Britain, but an important international event. It was right and proper that it be seen in those terms.

Asked who would be representing the United Kingdom at the two ceremonies, the Foreign Secretary said he knew only that the level of British representation would correspond to the importance of the occasion. The United Kingdom was very proud of what it had achieved during the period of its responsibilities for Hong Kong, and felt that the ceremony should demonstrate to the world that Hong Kong's future was based on solid foundations.

A correspondent asked what Britain's top priority with regard to Hong Kong would be after the 1997 transition. Mr. Rifkind said that uppermost among his country's priorities in regard to its relations with China would be Hong Kong. Britain had a very important moral obligation as well as a practical interest in the welfare of Hong Kong, which must take precedence over all other issues. Within that framework, he was pleased that there had been very substantive improvement in bilateral relations between Britain and China, covering a range of issues. It was certain that economic and trade relations were better than they had ever been before.

Mr. Rifkind told another correspondent that his country had always recognized that the Chinese would come to their own decisions with regard to what happened in Hong Kong after 1997. But the Chinese had emphasized -- and he welcomed it -- that any changes would be within the framework of the Joint

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Declaration and the Basic Law. It was against that framework that any initiatives would be tested, by the people of Hong Kong in particular, but also by the international community. The Chinese had said they were totally committed to the "two-systems-within-one-country" concept, which was of course embodied in the treaty commitment registered with the United Nations.

He told another correspondent that the United Kingdom had not "given up on the idea of keeping the Legislative Council around after transition". It would not give up because it would not be right to do so, unless events altered the picture. In that event, he said, it would be right to continue pressing the point and emphasizing courteously but firmly the United Kingdom's judgment as to the consequences that might arise. Abolishing the Council would be damaging to the confidence of the people of Hong Kong, and it would be unnecessary. He believed that the existing Council truly represented the wishes of the people of Hong Kong, and it would be in China's interests, as well as Hong Kong's, for that state of affairs to be respected.

Asked if he had discussed the question of a Hong Kong chief executive with China's Foreign Minister, the Foreign Secretary said that names had not been discussed, but he had emphasized the great importance the choice would represent. It would be seen as of crucial importance in terms of the confidence of the Hong Kong civil service and the wider Hong Kong community. The person chosen should have the right qualities and command the support of the majority of the people of Hong Kong. The Chinese Government had emphasized that they understood the sensitive nature of the post of chief executive, and he believed they would take into account the need to ensure that such a person enjoyed the confidence both of the civil service and the community.

Still in relation to the selection of the chief executive, Mr. Rifkind reiterated that this morning's consultations had focused on the need to ensure that the person chosen enjoyed the confidence of Hong Kong, and his Chinese counterparts had always emphasized that they saw the choice in similar terms.

In response to another question, Mr. Rifkind declined to speculate on the fitness for office of specific candidates for the post of chief executive. That was not a matter within the purview of the British Government.

Asked about the role of the democrats in Hong Kong, both in the selection process of the chief executive and in wider areas, Mr. Rifkind said that his country had urged that in any matters affecting the future of Hong Kong, the Chinese Government would be wise to ensure that those who represented the wishes of the people of Hong Kong -- as expressed in free elections -- should be allowed to participate and not be excluded. There had recently been encouraging statements by Chinese leaders to the effect that they did see the need for dialogue with people who disagreed with them on major issues, but were willing to work for the benefit of Hong Kong. He hoped

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such ideas would be built upon. It was very important that the democrats in Hong Kong, and others who had the support of Hong Kong opinion, should play the fullest possible part in Hong Kong's public life, both now and after 30 June 1997.

Asked whether there were any agreements about the movement of population in and out of Hong Kong, the Foreign Secretary said that as far as the United Kingdom was concerned, it had responded to a very important objective of the Hong Kong community by indicating that there would be visa-free access to the United Kingdom for Hong Kong residents. The question of population controls within China was a matter for the Chinese Government. Hong Kong residents would have their own passport, and there would continue to be frontier controls between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the rest of China. That had long been agreed upon.

To a final question on possible outstanding differences between Britain and China over Hong Kong, the Foreign Secretary said that the only serious issue was, of course, the difference of view over Hong Kong's provisional legislature. There were a number of other matters still under discussion, but in most of them progress was being made. On the question of an exchange of archives and assets, it had been agreed at this morning's discussions that the United Kingdom would be happy to have discussions on the matter and set up an expert group to enable it to be carried forward.

A number of correspondents also put questions on the subject of sanctions in Iraq and the stalled "oil-for-food" programme, as well as the current situation in Israel and the occupied territories. They asked among other things whether the Foreign Secretary envisaged a specific role for the United Kingdom in either of the two areas.

On Iraq, Mr. Rifkind answered that the lifting of sanctions depended on Iraqi compliance with specific Security Council resolutions, a compliance which had not been forthcoming. The suffering on the part of the Iraqi population was a consequence of that failure to comply. He told one correspondent that while Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's survival in office was not an issue in the matter of lifting sanctions, it seemed unlikely that the conditions for lifting sanctions would be met while President Hussein remained in power.

On the events in the Middle East, the Foreign Secretary told questioners that he was greatly concerned over the events of the past 24 hours. They were disturbing not only for the short term, but in what they implied for the future. The riots in the area seemed symptomatic of a wider deterioration in the Middle East peace process. There was an urgent need for Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Arafat to meet, and an equally urgent need for leaders in the region to exercise statesmanship, sensitivity and flexibility in order to defuse the situation and allow for careful and calm reflection on the issues that had given rise to the current problems.

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