Mr Ricketts
Minister
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Mr Ham PS/Mr
Googlad"
agreed.
Column 3/4
Cc:
147
HICD 340/6
Mr Woodrow HKD
VISIT TO LONDON BY DR C H LEONG: 3
4 SEPTEMBER
1. Dr Leong, representative of the Medical Functional Constituency in LegCo, will be in London at the end of this week and has asked to call on Mr Goodlad. He has also asked to see Mr Wardle at the Home Office. I understand there is a slot in the Minister's diary at 10.30 am on Thursday 3 September. If the Minister agrees to see Dr Leong, I will confirm a half hour call with the Omelco office.
2. Dr Leong has been lobbying hard on behalf of the c.220 children born before 1 January 1983 to Hong Kong British citizens who, unlike their younger siblings, are at present ineligible for British citizenship. Mr Goodlad plans to announce a small piece of good news for these cases during his visit to Hong Kong next week. Although a substantive Home office decision is still outstanding, they have told us we can confirm that the date on which these children applied for citizenship, not the date the decision is reached, is the operative one.
3.
Now that Dr Leong is coming to London, Mr Goodlad may wish to give him advance notice of this news. It would be a pity if, after all our hard work on behalf of these cases, Mr Wardle were to get the credit of telling Dr Leong rather than Mr Goodlad. But in order to retain the publicity advantage for his Hong Kong visit, the Minister might suggest to Dr Leong that if he were to raise this point in Mr Goodlad's meeting with Omelco, the Minister would then be able to allay concern over the operative date publicly.
K. Sanden
KAM Saunders
Hong Kong Department WH 311
270.3544
2 September 1992
min.vis.leong.PR
JEB
Am
IL MK
I think this is worth doing. CM is basically well disposed, and we contrive some favourable publicit for the small estra Concession at 'X'. A
logy of the
fecretary of stake's minute to the Mame fic (still unanswered) is attached. I will sit in.
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Richietty 14.