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SECRET
WITH
HIKR 340/1
нки
RECEIVED IN MOUT NO. 51
1 * MAR 1981
DESK OFFICER INDEX
RECSMY
PA
34A
PA
Action Taken
RECORD OF A MEETING BETWEEN THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY AND UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THE HONG KONG EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS: 2 FEBRUARY 1981 (Amended Version 12 March 1981)
178]
See HKK3401
1982
Present
The Rt Hon The Lord Carrington KCMG PC Mr R D Clift
Mr R MJ Lyne
Sir D Y Chung CBE Mr O V Cheung CBE QC Mr D R Ford MVO OBE
See (43) (15)
(73) SIA
107
+
124
169,
NEW NATIONALITY BILL AND IMMIGRATION MATTERS
See (223)
1. After a short discussion on conditions in Hong Kong, Sir S Y Chung said that he and Mr Cheung had been asked to represent the views of Unofficial Members to the Secretary of State on the draft nationality legislation now before the House of Commons. The Hong Kong Government had expressed its concern about the successive Green and White Papers and most recently about the draft Bill. There were still a number of aspect which he hoped could be considered during the progress of the Bill trough Parliament. He expressed their disappointment that Hong Kong's plea for maintaining a status quo was not accepted but was relieved to note the introduction of an intermediate category of citizenship of the British Dependent Territories to separate it from Britis Overseas Citizenship. However they were perplexed by the refere ice in the Home Secretary's speech in the Second Reading Debate that the introduction of a third category did not for practical purposes mean that the position of those who would have been British Overseas Citize is under the Green Paper proposals would be altered.
2. The new citizenship of the British Dependent Territories (CBDT) was no real improvement. Hong Kong British subjects expected that their existing rights would not be eroded and that CBDTS should have additional rights to those of British Overseas Citizens. He had noted Mr Raison's statement in the Debate that no special consideration was possible for any particular dependency. However, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands had been mentioned as possibly meriting special consideration. Sir S Y Chung suggested that some form of special arrangement for Hong Kong might be possible.
3. Hong Kong welcomed the reiteration in the Debate of the assurance in Paragraph 16 of the White Paper about HMG's commitment to its dependencies. However, in Hong Kong the legislation was seen as another step towards distancing Hong Kong from the United Kingdom, part of a series since the first 1962 Immigration Act.
4. Mr Whitelaw had pointed out that Britain was no longer an imperial power. Nevertheless, the constitutional position of Hong Kong had not changed and there was therefore no logical point in the change of designation from 'Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies' (CUKC) to CBDT Sir Y K Kan had pointed this out publicly.
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