5 July 1989
一九八九年七月五日
52
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
香港立法局
MR. TAI: Sir, may I take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for all the effort and thought you applied in supporting our case in the United Kingdom and before the Foreign Affairs Committee especially in regard to the right of abode issue. Also, at the Geneva Conference you spoke most effectively on the Vietnamese boat people issue for and on behalf of Hong Kong. Regarding the nationality issue and the deep-rooted distaste of the United Kingdom Parliament to grant the right of abode to British subjects in Hong Kong, your stand as Governor of Hong Kong by sticking your neck out for Hong Kong over what the United Kingdom Parliament finds to be a particularly unsavoury issue clearly demonstrated your personal commitment to the well- being of this territory.
Through the process of decolonization by the United Kingdom from the early 1960s, the United Kingdom has been faced with the problem of immigrants from her various dominions during her empire days, largely from Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Immigration has been a nightmare for politicians in the United Kingdom. To them, moral and constitutional responsibility, as history can tell us, comes second in importance to the issue of immigration. From the 1960s onwards, Britain has begun to gradually dissociate herself from Hong Kong. Frightened by the large immigration flow from Africa and the Indian subcontinent and fearing a similar eventuality in respect of Hong Kong from 1960s onwards she gradually closed her door to Hong Kong. She did this by a series of immigration and nationality Acts which classified Hong Kong passport holders as second class citizens. This very intent is again demonstrated in the United Kingdom memorandum in the Sino-British Joint Declaration which expressly stated that BDTCs do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom.
The efforts by the Administration and by our Senior Members to champion the cause of Hong Kong people's right of abode in order to alleviate the present confidence crisis arising out of the tragic event in Beijing, knowing the difficulties involved, have clearly demonstrated our conviction to maintain our stability during this transitional period.
Following the 4 June tragic event and the refusal to grant the right of abode to BDTC passport holders, there is a strong resentful mood in the community towards both the Chinese Government as well as the British Government. This would do more harm than good to our territory because I personally fail to see how the Joint Declaration can work for the present and future of Hong Kong if there is a lack of goodwill towards Hong Kong by either country. The crisis of confidence arises out of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. We look to the parties to this declaration to act in restoring confidence. Equally important, Hong Kong must also ask herself to adopt measures to help in restoring confidence.