HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
5 July 1989
香港立法局—————————一九八九年七月五日
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香港在九七年後的前途。兩局和廣大香港市民都認為,最有效的針對措施,莫過於英國履行其宗 主國的責任,給予港人應有的在英居留權。
報告書建議只給予某些類別人士在英國有居留權,除了會帶來分化香港社會的惡果外,建議的 本身也是自相矛盾的。例如報告書認為在過渡期內,維持公務員的士氣特別重要,因此在賦予公 務員英國居留權問題上,應具更大彈性。既然報告書確認有需要增強港人的信心,而問題也極待 解決。報告書建議把居留權給予一小部份人士(包括少數公務員在內),此舉不但無助於解決信 心問題,反而會引起社會分裂。就算公務員能夠維持高昂的士氣,但倘若港人信心崩潰,人人自 危,紛紛尋求退路,試問公務員又如何能協助港府對香港進行有效的管治呢?
此外,報告書並建議英國尋求國際協助,在將來共同收容港人。這個做法不但不切實際,罔圖 推卸責任,慷他人之慨,並且把港人當作難民看待,對我們實在是莫大的侮辱,對作為宗主國的 英國也是莫大的侮辱。
根據國際的慣常做法,在主權轉移之際,當地人應有國籍及居留地的選擇權利。而在法理及道 義上,英國政府應該給予港人居留英國的權利。
主席先生,香港迫切要解決的是居民的信心問題,而給與他們在英的居留權,是最靈驗的特效 藥。但觀乎賀維爵士近日發表的言論,英國仍然避開問題的核心,不肯對症下藥,正是「急驚風 偏遇慢郎中」。總括而言,該報告書只是從英國內部政治因素作出考慮,而沒有照顧到香港的實 際情況。目前香港已到了危急關頭,我們不希望再聽到英國漂亮而不切實際的虚言,而是要看 到確實有效的行動。
本人謹此陳辭,支持動議。
MR. EDWARD HO: Sir, I find that the Foreign Affairs Committee report contained many useful and valid observations and recommendations such as those on the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, the pace for the development of a representative government and the recommendation to introduce a Bill of Rights. All these recommendations are helpful to the effective administration of Hong Kong in the run up to 1997. My greatest objection to the report is in respect of their recommendation on the nationality issue.
The work of the Foreign Affairs Committee took place during the period from March to June 1989, in the midst of which the horrible events in Beijing took place. The bulk of the committee's work, especially in the taking of evidence, was conducted in April, at the time when no one anticipated that what happened in China could have happened. If their work were to have started in June, it would be logical to assume that the evidence put forward by the witnesses would have much more intensity and urgency and that the Foreign Affairs Committee would have drawn different conclusions and recommendations. After all, the Foreign Affairs Committee stated in the