Mr Lewty, MVD
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RECE
HI!) 39ota 345/2
18 OCT 1993
INDE.
FIC
From
LB Smith
Date:
South Asian Department
5 October 1993
Mrs
cc: Mrs Barnes Jones, HKD
Mr L Parker, New Delhi
(with ref. doc)
20
INDIA/HONG KONG
1.
Thank you for your minute of 30 September.
Whatever happens we need to make sure that the Indians understand what we are doing and why. At the least we would need to call in the High Commission here and call on the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi with a sensible line to take.
2.
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You will recall that the Indians have made representations to us at a high level about the legal situation of Indians in Hong Kong after 1997 and our unwillingness to concede that a comparatively small number of people (5,000 6,000) could be granted British passports. This may well be in the back of their minds when they look at any proposal for visa restrictions though I am bound to say that it is hard to predict which way they would jump, particularly if we have some security-related spin in our presentation.
3. But my most immediate reaction is that this could put a significant new burden on the High Commission in Delhi (I recall from my time in Thailand that the number of Thais applying for visas to visit Hong Kong was significantly greater than the number of Thais applying for visas to the UK.). I would hope that there would be proper consultation with the High Commission before any final move was made. The last thing we need is a sudden increase in visa work at the High Commission before they are properly staffed to cope with it.
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L B Smith
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