On 19 December 1984, after years of negotiations, the British and Chinese leaders signed a formal pact authorizing the colony`s turnover in 1997, in exchange for formulating a Chinese Communist government policy with a “one country, two systems”. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher called the agreement “a milestone in the life of the territory, in anglo-Chinese relations and in the history of international diplomacy.” Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, called the signing “a day of red letters, an occasion of great joy” for one billion people in China. Just as the atmosphere of the discussions became cordial, members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council were impatient with the long-standing secrecy of the progress of the Sino-British talks on the Hong Kong issue. According to a motion by legislator Roger Lobo, “this Council considers it essential that the proposals for hong Kong`s future be discussed in this Council before an agreement is reached,” was unanimously adopted. [26] But before Hong Kong returned, the United Kingdom and China reached an agreement to establish “one country, two systems”. In March 1979, Hong Kong Governor Murray MacLehose made his first official visit to the People`s Republic of China (PRC) and took the initiative to raise the issue of Hong Kong sovereignty with Deng Xiaoping. [7] Without clarification and definition of the official position of the Government of the People`s Republic of China, it would be difficult to arrange real estate and loan leases in Hong Kong in the next 18 years. [5] Hong Kong`s autonomy was guaranteed by the “one country, two systems” agreement enshrined in the Sino-British Declaration signed in 1984 by then-Chinese Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. During the 2014 Umbrella Revolution, a campaign against perceived violations of mainland China in HKSAR, Chinese officials concluded for the first time that China considered the joint declaration “invalid,” according to a British MP. [51] This conclusion was found to be “manifestly erroneous” by a senior Hong Kong lawyer and rejected by the British Foreign Minister, who stated that the document was a legally binding agreement that had to be respected. [26] [52] Rita Fan, then Hong Kong`s only representative on the Standing Committee of the National People`s Congress in Beijing, stated that responsibility for the UK`s oversight had expired and that the joint declaration did not provide for universal suffrage. [53] The comprehensive joint declaration between the Saline and Great Britain is not created by a mechanism approved by both parties to ensure compliance. Although registered with the United Nations, the Agreement did not contain any oversight mechanisms by the United Nations.
Therefore, only the signatories of the declaration have the right to address any violations of the conditions. The list includes Hong Kong government officials, members of the legislative and executive councils, presidents of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank, prominent businessmen such as Li Ka-shing, Pao Yue-kong and Fok Ying-tung, Martin Lee Chu-ming and Szeto Wah. One of the most important achievements has been to ensure the continuity of the independent judicial system in Hong Kong, including agreements in the areas of commercial navigation, civil aviation, nuclear materials, whale fishing, underwater telegraph, space and many others.
