CONFIDENT [AL
officials", Chief Executive or Executive Councillors.
The
Chinese were also considering whether top judges and members of the legislature should be included
B 6. Hong Kong telno 239 reports a "decision" of the BLDC sub group
to the effect that, in addition to the Chinese nationality requirement, holders of the posts listed in paragraph 3 above should
We have also not hold the right of abode in foreign countries. sent a telegram to Hong Kong asking for their assessment of these reports But our initial view is that this extra requirement would add little to what is already set out in the Basic Law.
C
Consular protection
1.
We are very unlikely to reach agreement with the Chinese either on a legal or practical basis. The most we can hope for is to agree to differ with minimal damage to confidence in Hong Kong.
We cannot
in practice guarantee consular protection for beneficiaries of our scheme people in the SAR or China (cf the position of Hong Kong residents presently who travel in China). However, in time we may find that in practice the Chinese will take a more flexible approach than their recent statements indicate.
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