of itself it may not give Hong Kong's people all the confidence they seek. But it is the bed rock upon which that confidence must be based. The recent events in China have thrown some of the articles into stark relief. As the noble and gallant Lord, and my noble friend Lord Ullswater indicated, stronger safeguards are demanded and we are considering now how those might be taken forward.
Protection of Human Rights
Together with the Hong Kong Government, we are looking urgently at ways of giving more detailed and specific legal protection to fundamental human rights in Hong Kong. One possibility would be the enactment in the territory of a Bill of Rights. The precise form of any such legislation and the timetable need to be looked at. But one merit of this approach would be to provide a codified and readily available body of law, giving very clear effect to the international covenants which already apply in Hong Kong.
Right of Abode
Some of the strongest feelings in this debate have been expressed on the subject of nationality and the right of abode for Hong Kong people in the United Kingdom. Of course I understand why this should be a subject of the keenest concern in Hong Kong, and why Hong Kong people should be pressing for some form of assurance for themselves and their families. But as well as being an emotive issue with, as some have said this afternoon, moral overtones it is one with the most serious practical consequences on all sides. Your Lordships will not expect me to make any announcement this afternoon. But I think from what we have heard that we are all well aware of the very real difficulties which would be posed by a massive new immigration commitment for this country. Granting automatic right of abode here to all people from Hong Kong cannot be a realistic option. There may however be scope for arrangements to enhance Hong Kong people's security and indeed their confidence. What I can say is that considerable effort and indeed imagination are being devoted to finding solutions which tackle the problem.
We are well aware of the proposals for international guarantees to provide a home for all Hong Kong people and will give these full consideration, although I have to say that I do not believe that this would be a viable way forward in the present circumstances. Some countries are already taking significant numbers of Hong Kong people for settlement, but they also have other immigration commitments of their own. I believe, frankly that it would be unrealistic to expect other countries to make a commitment of the order of magnitude necessary to accommodate the entire population of Hong Kong.