C
From A J Langdon
273 2516
1 March 1990
CONFIDENTIAL
HKD 340/4
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
1 1MAY 1990
DESK OFFICER INDEX
PA
REGISTRY Action Taken
c.c. Mr Yates
Mr Hammond
Mr Morris
Mr Platt
Mr Mower
Mrs Grimsey
Mr Seymour Miss Davies Miss Dews Mr Harrington
Mr Page
Mr Stadlen
Mr Green
Mr Godfrey Mr Morris, FCO
Mr Walters
130
HONG KONG : OD (K) MEETING 6 MARCH
I have two comments on the excellent draft OD (K) paper that Mrs Grimsey submitted yesterday.
Occupational Groups
2. Although it is true, as Mrs Grimsey says, that there may be sub-groups with relatively high emigration rates below the proposed cut-off line, and others with low rates above it, I think that making allowance for such anomalies would make the scheme impossibly complex. I therefore recommend that paragraph 18 of the OD (K) paper should be replaced by a new paragraph, as follows:
"18. The conclusion to which I am drawn is that we should deal with this in a broad way by simply excluding the last seven categories in Annex C2 and settling for the scheme displayed in Annex C3".
Key Entrepreneurs
3. Although it is probably the age factor that would particularly disadvantage the key entrepreneurs under the points scheme, I think it would be a clumsy device to take power to disapply that factor and leave the entrepreneurs to compete for places on the remaining points factors. (On a point of detail, I don't think the Governor could simply disapply the age factor: he would have to specify the age that the entrepreneur should be deemed to be for the purposes of the scheme, which might itself appear a bit odd.) This would, I
CONFIDENTIAL