A
Surting F State
Dr. Zahetts, HID
Could you cution that
un Govenor in contut
Pui note Sewerag
The minister
G.J
ماهی
agrees.
Darey 30/62
FROM: P F Ricketts
-1 JUL 1993
86).
Ст
Hong Kong Department
DATE: 30 June 1993
cc: Mr Sullivan, NTCD
1/4
Mr
нува
Ch3%
PS/Mr Goodyad Mitmester
Private Secretary
Segretary
A3.17.
Has the
Governa
HONG KONG NATIONALITY: ETHNIC MINORITIES
1.
agreed to
how Mus line?
David Howell, in his capacity as Chairman of the Foreign In Affairs Committee, has asked for an explanation of the reasons
why the Government considers, that non-Chinese ethnic minorities
should not be offered British citizenship. I submit a draft
which has been slightly delayed awaiting a contribution from the
Home Office. It has been cleared by our departmental Legal Counsellor and with NTCD.
2. Mr Howell puts his request in the context of the FAC enquiry
into Hong Kong/China (Mr Goodlad is due to give evidence on 14
July), and continuing concern in Hong Kong about the position of this group.
In their 1989 report on Hong Kong, the Foreign
Affairs Committee considered that the Government had an
obligation to provide British citizenship for non-Chinese
British Dependent Territory citizens. The Government rebutted this formally in the Observations on the FAC Report presented by the Secretary of State in May 1990. The Memorandum prepared by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in March, updating the Government's earlier observations, also went over this ground
(extract attached).
Pichett
PF Ricketts
HICD 346.....
अद
Inve
14 JU! 1993
Privaks! Secretary
We have confinned will-
the Governor And he is
content wall the hou
117
ethnic.NAT.JRB
cbeth
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