HOUSE OF COMMONS
4 April 1290
انا
Colleagues
Адисм
You will he doubt have seen a copy of a letter dated 28 March, jointly signed by Bowen Wells. Norman Tebbit and John Butcher about the Hong Kong Bill. It sets out concerns which I am sure a number of you may have about the Bill. I therefore thought it right to write immediately in order to address these concerns.
-
The letter underlines rightly the importance of the Sino- British Joint Declaration for the future of Hong Kong. OUT decision to provide passports for 50,000 key Hong Kong people and their dependants in no way undermines, or detracts from, the importance of that Agreement. Indeed, it is precisely because of our obligation under the Joint Declaration to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity that we decided to introduce these measures. The Bill does not contravene the Joint Declaration or the associated exchange of memoranda which deals specifically with nationality matters. Nothing in the British memorandum precludes the Government from granting full British citizenship to anyone in Hong Kong. Indeed, far from being contrary to the Joint Declaration, the Government's measures are fully consistent with our obligation under the Declaration to maintain the stability and prosperity of Hong
Kong.
1
The writers of the letter are quite correct an asserting that our nationality package for Hong Kong is based on the proposition that in order to persuade key people to stay there until 1997 and beyond, we must give them the insurance policy of British citizenship. It is a fact that many of those professional and skilled people who have emigrated from liong Xong to Canaca, the United States and Australia have done so precisely in order to obtain such an insurance policy. Our scheme is designed to ensure that those of talent and enterprise who are ebbing away from the territory will have the confidence to stay. In this way. we bel ve we can make a real contribution to maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity
by, which 13 the key to a successful transition in 1997.
20 d
LIPZ 688 TO