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[Mr. Richar
Hong Kong Bill
6 FEBRUARY 1985
el
"common strand that comes through of the desire to see confidence in Hong Kong. That was the clear desire on both sides of the House.
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Hamilton for welcoming the time lag between the Second Reading and Committee stages which we effected after listening carefully to the suggestions that he and other hon. Members made that there should be more time to consider the Bill before the Committee stage. I shall try to answer the points raised as clearly as I can to enable the Committee to proceed to the other issues.
The point that has come through most strongly tonight, as on Second Reading, is the question of accountability to the House. My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have given this a great deal of thought. As hon. Members will recall, on Second Reading we had considerable reservations about having an institutionalised system in the form of an annual report and debate. We thought that that would not necessarily accord with the demands of the situation. It is worth recalling, too, that this is the third debate on Hong Kong in two months, although I appreciate that there are special reasons for that which will not apply in future years.
My right hon. and learned Friend and I have responded to the views of Members in all parts of the House in deciding that an annual report on Hong Kong will be produced by the Government and laid before Parliament. The exact form has not yet been decided and the matter is to be discussed further with the Governor of Hong Kong, but it is expected to include a general account of developments in Hong Kong during the preceding year.
The hon. Members for Hamilton, for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman), for Wrexham (Dr. Marek), for Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber (Mr. Johnston) and for Bolton, South- East (Mr. Young) have all raised important points. The Select Committee on Foreign Affairs is bound to take a close interest and the Government stand ready to co- operate with it. If it wishes to look into issues from time to time, we shall do our best to co-operate.
As to whether there should be a debate on the annual report, the House may wish to judge whether a debate is desirable or useful in the light of the report. If the House takes that view the matter can then be pursued through the usual channels. Equally, the Government or the House may judge on some other occasion that a debate, should take place because something special has arisen
I hope that my comments will be of some help to the House and will show that it is the Government's desire to co-operate as best we can. I appreciate the importance of the House continuing to take a strong interest in Hong Kong throughout the period in which the Government have a clear responsibility for Hong Kong, certainly until 1 July 1997.
The hon. Members for Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber and for Hamilton referred to the basic law. The situation in that respect has not changed substantially since Second Reading. Drafting the basic law is clearly a matter for the Chinese Government, but they have made it absolutely clear that they will consult Hong Kong opinion on a wide basis. The mechanics of the consultation are not yet clear and this is a matter for the Chinese Government, but we welcome the fact that they have expressed the clear intention to consult Hong Kong opinion.
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The hon. Member for Hamilton referred to international trade agreements. As he knows, provision is made for the special administrative region to continue with very important agreements such as the GATT, and the provisions for the Joint Liaison Group specifically mention the need to discuss how special arrangements can continue for GATT and other international agreements.
The hon. Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Wrigglesworth) spoke of the Hong Kong economy, which is doing extremely well in terms of growth and exports. I am sure that continuity of international agreements is an important factor in that.
My hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Wells) and the hon. Members for Stockton, South and for Huddersfield talked about democratic institutions and the pace of progress in that respect. As the House knows, the first indirect elections will take place in September this year for part of the Legislative Assembly. Looking back to the debate of 5 December and to Second Reading, I believe that it is the general view of the House that it is best to proceed cautiously towards the fullest degree of democratic accountability by the Executive, and that is what we are doing, taking the views of the people of Hong Kong very much into account. As the House also knows, there will be a further review of the democratic institutions and the constitution in 1987 in the light of the experience of indirect elections in the next two years. Obviously, the House and, above all, the people of Hong Kong will have another opportunity to express their views.
The hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) raised an important point about Vietnamese refugees, of which I am aware. It has a bearing on this legislation because it also affects the confidence of the people in Hong Kong. I did not answer him on Second Reading because of the lack of time. We give the matter high priority. There are still 11,900 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong. I pay tribute to the people and Government of Hong Kong for the way in which they have tackled this major problem. They have coped with no fewer than 100,000 refugees since 1979, and they have done an admirable job in extremely difficult circumstances. The Sub-Committee of the Select Committee on Home Affairs is taking evidence on that. I gave evidence this week. We look forward with great interest to its report.
Mr. J. Enoch Powell: On 25 July the Minister gave me an extremely informative analysis of the present population of Hong Kong. One of the sections referred to 4,500 stateless persons of non-Chinese race, most of whom originate from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Does the 100,000 that he mentioned include that figure, or is that figure included in the 95,000 other foreign nationals?
Mr. Luce: Those 4,500 people are quite separate. At present they are stateless people. I think that 11,900 people are classified as refugees, who are foreign nationals. I am subject to correction on that. They are the clear responsibility of both the Hong Kong and British Governments, and it is our objective to find a durable solution to the problem.
My hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook) made an extremely important point about the officers in Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service in Hong Kong. He reminded the House that he served in the Overseas Civil Service, as I did. The agreement on the future of Hong Kong provides satisfactorily for the
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