1993-07-23 18:20 SECURITY BRANCH
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SBCR 1/2/1162/89
Deborah Barnes-Jones
Hong Kong Department FCO
Doar
Debbio
852 868 5074
P.02
FA
GOVERNME
LOWE
HOI
23 July 19.
Mr nodlad's
to Mr Tourin
wady.
I am sorry I could not reach you/in reply to your letter of 20 July 1993 before Mr Goodlad apparently had to write to Mr Wardle (the fax of that letter is missing its second page as is the second page of the note on the meeting with Lydia Dunn - could you send complete set by
I was waiting for the return to self and Bowen Leung). most important aspect of the reaction" to Cs that I thought you were seeking first viz a LegCo Nationality Sub-committee meeting yesterday.
si at ement
But the Hon
We were not invited to that meeting. Christine Loh rang me to say that Members were in two camps, one that was satisfied with the Chief Secretary's 'substitution' of a restatement of the Geoffrey Howe assurance, for the Home Secretary's more specific one; and one (including herself and the Chairman, the Hon Emily Lau) who were not. I think we/you/Home Office may have further trouble on this, greater than with either BN (0) phased programme or ethnic minorities - neither of which
You issues actually touched the majority as this docc. will see from the attached Governor's Line-to-Take issued last Friday by Information Co-ordinator/Government House how this may twist, and how the Howe assurance which we are using may not satisfy the actual people who have felt most let down since 1981 viz British passport holders who might find life in Hong Kong difficult if the spirit of the JD is not kept, 1.e. NOT an international, Bosnia-style disaster, where it is not promising much for Britain Lu say it will take the lead in dealing with a
Christine mass refugee crisis for all the population. Lon focussed instead un who exactly might need cuch an assurance in the more likely type of 'worst-case' viz those people encouraged by the British to believe in freedom of speech etc; she said it looked particularly strange as well as remarkably mean and ill-timed, that these people seemed to be getting a 'slap in the face' from the Home Secretary at this point.
She said she and Emily (who is still waiting for the promised letter from the Home Secretary) would be probably taking this up strongly in LegCo, and Emily has been quoted as likely to call for a No-Contidence motion on this issue. It was the in the British Government main feature in media coverage of the CS' statement, with the CS made to look distinctly uncomfortable when the Hons Loh and Lau quizzed him on whether the Howe assurance was not less than what had been implied in the mid 80s. Emily Lau caid on radio che thought the British were retracting because after Tienanmen Square they realised they might