-1993
11:08
24 IND LIVERPOOL
44 051 238 3088
P.02
DRAFT SPEECH
LORD BONHAM-CARTER'S BRITISH NATIONALITY (HONG KONG) BILL
LORD FERRERS :
My Lords, it is clear from today's debate that this Bill deals
with a subject about which not only the noble Lord, Lord Bonham-
Carles, but also many others in your Durdskip's House feel very
strongly. We saw this in July when we had the debate on the Hong
Kong Orders in Council.
As we have heard, the Bill is concerned primarily with those Hong
Kong British Dependent Territories citizens or British Nationals
(Overseas) who have no other nationality and who therefore
without one of these forms of British nationality would be
stateless. The measure is directed at those of Hong Kong's
ethnic minorities who are exclusively British. Most of the
ethnic minority population besides having British nationality
have citizenship of India or Pakistan. Those who are the subject
of the Bill have no such second citizenship.
It has been argued very strongly both today and in July that
because of their unique position the 7,000 members of the ethnic
minorities with whom the Bill is concerned should be given the
security of full British citizenship.
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