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TALKING POINTS
Po
Mr Heyve 2 McMore's
22 Febr
28/2
1991
(8)
TALKING POINTS issues on Fridays and records public views and reactions on current talking points collected from a small number of respondents in both urban and New Territories regions by City and New Territories Administration liaison staff over the week. As TALKING POINTS is not based upon a large representative cross-section of public opinion, indications in it should be treated with caution and should not be quoted authoritatively without first checking their reliability with the City and New Territories Administration.
THE BRITISH NATIONALITY SCHEME
Some respondents were rather surprised at the lukewarm response of the public towards the British Nationality Scheme. ΤΟ most of them this confirmed their belief that Britain was not a popular place of settlement for many Hong Kong people. They considered that Britain's grim economy did not offer good prospects for employment or business. Some respondents pointed out that they did not apply because they had no relatives or friends in Britain. They might however consider doing so in the second round should their relatives or friends succeed in their applications this time.
Some respondents also thought that the earlier hostile attitude of China towards the scheme had discouraged some people from applying. There was some concern that those who acquired British passports under this scheme mi gh t prejudice the future SAR Government against them and their career prospects might thus be adversely affected. The worry that there mi ght
in time be reprisals by China against those who applied but failed and had to remain in Hong Kong had also deterred some from applying. Other respondents thought that the poor response was due to the fact that those who were qualified under the scheme mi ght have possessed an alternative passport already while others felt that they were not qualified and did not therefore bother to apply. Some respondents also considered the 32-page application forms too complicated to complete.
Still others thought that confidence in Hong Kong had returned to a degree and interest in an insurance policy had therefore waned.
2.
Some respondents believed that there would be a rush to submit applications before the deadline and that it was too early to say that the scheme was a failure. Quite a number of the respondents expressed an interest in applying in view that the competition was not keen and the likelihood of success now seemed greater. Some also thought that the Government should not over- publicize the scheme to avoid being accused by China of luring people away from Hong Kong.
ACCIDENT IN THE HARBOUR AFTER FIREWORKS DISPLAY ON 16 FEBRUARY
3.
Respondents thought that the Government was also to blame for the collision on 16 February involving a ferry and a pleasure junk. They thought that while the Government had made special land traffic arrangements that day, it had neglected the traffic in the harbour. Furthermore, there did not seem to be any co-ordination among the departments concerned in the rescue
C.N.T.A. 8 (Rev.)
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