RESTRICTED
FM FCO
TO DESKBY 10020OZ HONG KONG
TELNO 570
OF 091734Z
JUNE 93
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
INFO ROUTINE NEW DELHI
p. Jungle Visits
1440x225
Mo Sayaders (ar) MOHOAN 1987
RESTRICTED
HKB 027/2
NATIONALITY: VISIT OF LEGCO HOUSE COMMITTEE
DELEGATION
SUMMARY
1. When the Home Secretary saw the delegation on 9 June, he agreed in principle to allow British Dependent Territory Citizens (BDTCs) to retain their current passports in addition to British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports when the latter are issued under the BNO registration programme. He said that he could not at this stage give details on the precise mechanism. The Home Office have told us that they do not anticipate delaying the Laying of the Order in Council much more than a few days, and would expect the two Hong Kong Orders (BNO and British Nationality Scheme) to be debated together in early or mid July. We will let you have a more detailed account of the meeting as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we have faxed a Copy of Home Office press release to Dinham and Vickers, Security Branch.
2.
Mr Goodlad received the delegation earlier on 9 June. As expected they called for British citizenship for the ethnic minorities, expressed opposition to the introduction of a phased programme for registration of BNOS and asked for British citizenship for wives and widows of ex-servicemen without having to fulfil residence qualifications. Ronald Arculli and Emily Lau
made the running, with occasional interventions from Howard Young.
ETHNIC MINORITIES
3. Mr Goodlad repeated the undertaking given by the present and previous governments to this community. (He said that future governments had an obligation to consider with particular sympathy the case for admission to
for admission to the UK of any Hong Kong resident with solely British nationality in the unlikely event of their coming under severe pressure to leave Hong Kong and having nowhere else to go.) The Home Office was reviewing LegCo's request for British citizenship for them. He asked the
1
PAGE
RESTRICTED