MY.02 86 11:15 GMT HO 2 LUNAR HOUSE
M LYON
IND
84 Division
E.Lunar House (Extension 2832)
2 May 1986
Mr Fittall
NTY/86 1/387/8
CC
Mr Hudson
DEBATE ON HONG KONG NATIONALITY ORDER : OPENING SPEECH
P.02
A
Mr Woodland
Mr Hyde
Mr Phillips
Mr Pakenham-Walsh
Mr Holmes
Mr Fries
Mr Acton
Mr Bickham Mr Hum (FCO)
The House of Commons debate on the Hong Kong Nationality Order has been arranged for Monday 12 May. It will be a half-day debate, starting at 7 p.m, and there is a good chance it will run through to 11.30 p.m.
Ministers may find it helpful to consider at this stage the attached draft of a speech which, subject to their views, we propose might be used in opening the debate. As you will see, we have concentrated on the main outstanding issues rather than gone into too much detail on the Order itself, and we have dwelt most
We suspect this fully on explaining our decision about the ethnic minorities. will be the main preoccupation of the great majority of speakers in the debate. In particular, We have tried, however, to put that issue in its wider context. we think Ministers will want to make it plain that they have listened to the views expressed in successive Parliamentary debates and in Hong Kong, and have moved a
We think also Ministers will very long way to meet these views at all stages.
want to make it clear at the outset that we believe we have fully met our moral commitments to the people of Hong Kong. The moral commitment is likely to be the principal and most emotive argument put in support of the ethnic minorities, and there may be advantage in making it clear that it is not a necessary consequence of accepting a moral commitment that we grant the ethnic minorities British
citizenship.
The Home Secretary will no doubt wish to consider which Minister should open for the Government. The attached draft has been prepared for the Home Secretary's use,
but it could easily be modified.