TRANSCRIPT I SELECT CONNITTER ON HONG KONG 24 MAY 1989
MR RENTON (CONT):
But I think we do have to look at all of those
categories as individual categories to see very clearly
what is involved in terms of the word debt, as you put it,
or service, and therefore what are the appropriate steps
for the United Kingdom Government to take to recognise
obligation.
On the other category you mentioned, businessmen,
you will I think know the general rules under which the
Government does encourage businessmen who wish to invest
in this country to come here to make their investment and
then after a reasonable period of residence in this
country, for which there is a measure of discretion for
the Home Secretary, they can obtain settlement after 4
years, arguably a slightly shorter period, and that
settlement would, in the normal course of events, lead to
their permission to obtain citizenship after a further
year. But during that period of time they have of course
to show that they are definitely putting their roots down
in this country.
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But there is quite a lot of discretion and quite a
lot of encouragement in that area.
MR TEMPLE-MORRIS:
We will come to the specific categories but finally
this general point, many Hong Kong people, if not all