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5. There was a general view that it had not been helpful for the Chinese press to report that the nationality of the non-ethnic Chinese was a purely British problem. Mr Renton said that none of the Chinese officials he had met in Peking had taken such a line. Roger Sims reported that the Chinese Embassy and the NCNA office in London were also taking the line that the nationality of the non-Chinese was a British problem.
6.
Andrew Faulds argued that, even if the Chinese Government said publicly that it would be ready to grant Chinese nationality to the non-ethnics, the problem would remain since the Indians and other minority communities did not want Chinese nationality. What they were after was a bolt-hole in Britain. Mr Renton said that the Indians claimed to want to stay in Hong Kong. If what they were really after was a bolt- hole in Britain it was hard to see why they should be treated any differently to any other group of Hong Kong residents. He also wondered just how long the nationality issue would remain as emotive as it had been in recent weeks in Hong Kong. A year ago the advice from Hong Kong had been that the Chinese community was not in favour of special treatment for the Indians, since it would be divisive. Opinion had turned around very quickly indeed. Sir Paul Bryan suggested that nationality might have already been overtaken by constitutional development as the flavour of the month in Hong Kong. Lord MacLehose said he remained worried; the resentments going back to 1981 suggested to him that nationality would continue to be a live issue for some time to come.
1.
On constitutional development, Mr Faulds said he saw a danger that the process of democratisation might advance much faster than the thinking of the Chinese officials who would be drafting the Basic Law. He had thought of making this point in the debate on the Order in Council, but had concluded that it would have made Mr Renton's time in Hong Kong even more difficult. Mr Renton said that he thought a public speech on these lines by so well known a friend of Hong Kong would be a useful reminder to the more vociferous of the "reformers" in Hong Kong of the importance of "convergence" (or "compatibility"). Mr Faulds had put his finger on a most important point which would be a major pre-occupation in the months to come. Others present agreed.
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PJ Westmacott PS/MR RENTON