HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
5 July 1989
香港立法局
一九八九年七月五日
69
Let me just bring out two points for argument, the first being based on straightforward reasoning and logic, and the second on danger and fear.
There is a lot of talk that with the categorization of the Hong Kong population for United Kingdom citizenship, senior civil servants will be included. The reason given is that there is a need to give assurance to these people so that they will stay to serve and run the Hong Kong Government. In other words, to give them an insurance policy. It does not stand to reason that Her Majesty's Government could feel the need for insurance by some and yet not by others in Hong Kong. Ironically, Sir, whilst Her Majesty's Government agreed that there is a need for insurance, the FAC members felt that the need for insurance is confusing.
Let me address the issue of danger. And by this I mean danger to Hong Kong; danger to the Hong Kong Government in facing an ungovernable situation in the future.
In a situation where there are the "haves" and the "have-nots" or when it is declared that "all men are born equal, but some are more equal than others", I fail to see how the "haves", in this case the government servants, could command the respect of and to govern the "have-nots" in the future.
The feeling of Hong Kong people towards the Administration in the last few months, very regrettably, Sir, has been that of scepticism and distrust as exemplified by the ever increasing industrial actions in the Civil Service.
To wit, there has been no industrial action between 1983 and 1986; there was only one in 1987 and one in 1988 respectively but there were more than a dozen in the first four months of this year alone!
These are not my sentiments alone, Sir, but those within and without this Chamber. Yet ironically, after all these, the Secretary of State in his parting words said that Her Majesty's Government is considering "selecting certain categories of Hong Kong residents to live in Britain and hopes that the Hong Kong community would be non-divisive by such selection". It baffled my mentality and intelligence that categorization can minimize division.
The right of abode has to be conceived as an inherent human right for all those born or naturalized British subjects in Hong Kong or any other city in Britain. As a signatory to the international human rights treaties, Britain has to restore these rights to the people of Hong Kong.