CODE 18-77
SS 8/78
Mr Rooney
B
13/1
RIGHT OF ABODE IN DEPENDENCIES
1. Mr Chan who is accompanying the Governor of Hong Kong on his present visit (Mr Chan is, I am told, a senior official in the policy-making side of the Immigration Department in Hong Kong that is, he is not in the operational side of the Immigration Section there) has told me that there should be no difficulty in Hong Kong in giving the right of abode to all who are CBDT by virtue of a connection with that territory. He said that various Committees had withheld confirmation of this in response to our recent telegram because of their feelings about the Nationality Bill in general. The implication of this was that if they get some satisfaction the assurance we seek will be forthcoming. I imagine it would be forthcoming anyway, but they are just
being as awkward as they can be. In fact the Governor in a separate meeting and in a different context was quite adamant that the people concerned already have the right of abode in Hong Kong.
12 March 1981
Zee
also
يسمسا
W Jones
Nationality and Treaty Department