1998-11-19 17:31 SECURITY EFANCH
852 868 5074 F.02
Ethnic minorities : motion tabled
by the Hon Jimmy McGregor for debate on 18 November :
reply by S for S
Mr Deputy President,
I welcome this debate for two
for two reasons.
First, it
has been a well informed debate. Secondly, it allows me the opportunity to acknowledge on behalf of the Government the very substantial contribution which the ethnic minorities have made to Hong Kong's economic prosperity. am thinking particularly of those in organisations such as Indian Resources Group. That contribution has been and remains out of proportion to their numbers. We are grateful to them and have long been concerned that their future security and place in Hong Kong is assured. But we need to remind ourselves that the ethnic minorities, like many other non-Chinese citizens have chosen to make Hong Kong their home.
To the best of our knowledge, some 20,000
long-term Hong Kong residents belong to the ethnic
minorities. Most are nationals of India and Pakistan and
hold passports from those countries.
But at a rough
I