CONFIDENTIAL
3
Mr Brown NTD CL537
REVIEW OF NATIONALITY LAW
1. Your circular minute of 20 January and the attached memorandum refers.
2. I understand that the first part, at least, of the passage on Hong Kong in Annexe 1 to your draft memorandum was agreed at a much earlier stage in the Nationality Review and I think that it is still valid. Something appears to have gone wrong, however, as regards the sentence beginning "Hong Kong CUKCs have at present no right of migration to the United Kingdom ...". suggest that this should be amended to read as follows:-
"Not more than a few thousand Hong Kong CUKCS are thought likely to have the right of entry into the United Kingdom ...".
I
This is in line with the language used in Mr Rowlands' Answer to Mr Patrick Wall's PQ on 26 May 1976 (Hansard, Written Answers, Col. 728). I suggest also that the references to the Governor of Hong Kong and the Acting Governor of Hong Kong should be changed to read "the Hong Kong Government". If this is done, a consequential
amendment would be necessary to the beginning of the last sentence in the passage in Annexe 1.
3. On a minor point, I presume that the reference to "Governments" in the fourth line of paragraph 5 of the draft memorandum itself should be to "Governors"
4.
In general I am very much in favoår, from Hong Kong's point of view, of slowing down the process for publishing a Green Paper (or a White Paper) in order to allow time for proper advance consultations.
5.
Mr Milton has passed these amendments to Mr Mitchell. I hope that they can be taken into account when the memorandum is finalised (your submission of 25 January to Mr Hawley now refers).
28 January 1977
JA B Stewart
Hong Kong Department
K 246 233 3184
CONFIDENTIAL