1989-06-12 19:35 COI RADIO TECH SERVICES.
01'928 8607
P.04
TRANSCRIPT C: SELECT COMMITTEE ON HONG KONG
12 JUNE 1989
-3-
MR. TEMPLB-MORRIS:
There is no area in this whole difficult area that
inspires stronger feelings in Hong Kong and incidentally
is increasingly inspiring differing views and strong
feelings here too, than the nationality and immigration
issue.
I want to take you through it, if I may. first of
all generally, just to give you a guide to the line of
questions that I will be asking, first of all. in the light
of moral obligation, in the light of what has been
happening in China; then specifically looking at the
categories and what the British Government might be doing
there and your own role in Section 45 of the 1981 Act;
and finally AMELCO, what they proposed and what they are
likely to propose.
Going therefore to the general, firet of all, Sir
David, you have in the past, before these regrettable and
tragic events in China, expressed considerable sympathy as
the spokesman for Hong Kong people, with their claim for a
right of abode and I want now to deal with the thing at
its maximum, in the sense that we have been talking about
3.25 million people either passport-holders or potential
passport-holders.
In the week-end press, the moral obligation argument
was stretched in one or two newspapers not just to 3.25
million but to the 6 million or total population of Hong
Kong as it stande now.