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emigrating perhaps once every year, families in Hong Kong have found that five or six close friends have all gone within a few months, and so even those who previously had no intention of leaving, become unsettled and take steps to follow their friends. If the press is to be believed, Canada has recently made immigration even easier.
I do not suggest that there should be any kind of restriction on the movement of people out of Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is
part of the Commonwealth and our Commonwealth friends might be said to be acting in an unfriendly fashion against a fellow member of the Commonwealth, and I wonder if HMG could not ask Canada, in particular, and perhaps Australia, just to slow things down a bit.
(3) Partly due to recent alarming stories about groups and individuals being denied entry to the UK which, in the village of Hong Kong, get considerable and speedy publicity,,there is a general belief growing that a Hong Kong passport is of little value, and it is better to emigrate and seek a passport of greater value. There may be little validity in the sort of stories that are circulating, but they do great damage and unsettle people who are already uncertain about their future, and if HMG could do anything to improve the handling of Hong Kong residents at British ports of entry, I suggest it would be beneficial.
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حمد