105
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
18 November 1992
香港立法局
一九九二年十一月十八日
105
In his reply to us later, Mr Deputy President, I hope the Secretary for Security can give us some indication of the size of the problem including the number of people who are being affected and also whether the Government supports the ethnic minorities' demand for full British citizenship. Furthermore, Mr Deputy President, I hope the Government will not trot out their tired old argument that the ethnic minorities were included within the British nationality selection scheme which did not discriminate among races.
As we all know, the British nationality selection scheme was launched after the Peking Massacre of 1989 to help to restore confidence. It was a very limited, very elitist and highly selective scheme aimed at the well heeled and well qualified. To ask the ethnic minorities, some of whom may not even qualify to apply, to seek salvation from this scheme is unreasonable and unacceptable. The Government may want to assist this Council by telling us how many members of the ethnic minorities and their families have succeeded in acquiring British nationality under the selection scheme.
In conclusion, Mr Deputy President, Britain's responsibility for her subjects here, be they ethnic Chinese or non-Chinese, is unshirkable. It is a question of Britain's honour and moral responsibility. Thus it is deeply humiliating and infuriating to see our legitimate demands repeatedly ignored. The question of full British citizenship for all the Hong Kong British subjects will not go away, Mr Deputy President. Let us make a fresh start tonight in dealing with this very thorny problem by pressing the British Government to accede to the ethnic minorities' very, very modest demands.
With these remarks, Mr Deputy President, I reluctantly support Mr McGREGOR's motion and oppose Mr ARCULLI's amendment.
涂謹申議員致辭:
副主席先生,在國籍問題上,港同盟一向為香港人(包括少數非華裔的居民)爭取應有的 政治權利,在九一年立法局競選政綱第三章第2.3段已提到,要令英國政府履行它對原 英國屬土公民,特別是居港非華裔英籍人士的責任,給與他們居英的權利。英國政府亦一 貫地拒絕承擔對有關問題的法律及道德責任,給與香港英籍居民全面英國公民權。在這方 面來說,我仍然要說英國政府是不負責任和可恥的。