The British Government's scheme will give 50,000 of these key people the assurance which they want without any need for them to live in Britain before they qualify for our citizenship. The Government are also asking our allies in Europe and elsewhere in the world to consider similar schemes which could help sustain confidence in Hong Kong.
It is of course theoretically possible that every one of the 50,000 families who benefit from the Government's scheme will decide to come and live in Britain. This is considered extremely unlikely given their strong cultural, personal and professional ties with Hong Kong. But even if they did come here, they would certainly not be a burden to this country. They would be some of the most enterprising and talented people from one of the most successful economies seen this century, who could start immediately to make a contribution.
Arrangements are being made for all applications under the scheme to be processed by 30 June 1997 when the scheme will end. The Government's scheme will be strictly limited in numbers, scope and duration. The legislation will be ring fenced to ensure that it cannot be used as a vehicle to bring about wider changes in the Government's immigration policy.
If the Government had offered no assurances on nationality, this country's economic interests would certainly have been damaged. A major challenge to our policy of restricting immigration would also have been made more likely. If confidence within Hong Kong were to collapse completely, then Britain could expect very large numbers of people to arrive at its airports seeking admission as refugees. The numbers involved might make the 50,000 families included in the Government's scheme look small.
Faced with such a situation, the British Government would naturally try to coordinate an international response to the problem, but we can be certain that other countries would expect Britain, as the former colonial power, to accept the lion's share. It would be far preferable to avoid such an outcome by doing everything in our power to maintain the prosperity and confidence of Hong Kong during the remaining years of British administration.
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J Morris
Hong Kong Department
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