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Subs. (c@bove?
Concerning
I fully understand what Mr. Jackson-Lipkin says about the
anxiety felt by people in Hong Kong about what would happen in
the event of an invasion from the Chinese mainland
for
for that
matter if life was made difficult to some lesser extent. But
at
the difficulty I think is to relate a possible threat/some
time in the future to the normal present day requirements of
control of immigration to the United Kingdom. I do not wish to
minimise dangers but I must say first that there is no reason to
believe that there will be such an invasion. I cannot give any
undertaking about what concessions might or might not be made at
the time of any emergency in the future, since it is impossible
to foresee what the political and other circumstances might be
at the time, both in Hong Kong and elsewhere, and also because
the Home Secretary cannot bind his successors in Office to any
particular course of action. I am quite sure that
Mr. Jackson-Lipkin and people in Hong Kong who are anxious about
their future may rely on the British Government in power at the
time to do everything possible to assist people in Hong Kong who
are placed in difficult circumstances; but the fact that I am
sure of this does not enable me to give an undertaking, now,
that people from Hong Kong will be treated differently from
people in other parts of the Commonwealth by being admitted to
the United Kingdom at any time without restriction.
I hope that you, and Mr. Jackson-Lipkin, will not feel that
this is an unhelpful reply. I quite agree that there is a
problem, but I cannot go further than I have done at the present
time.
I am sending a copy of this letter to John Smith, who has
also spoken to me about Mr. Jackson-Lipkin's letter of
19th September.
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