2 -
This news therefore comes as a serious
blow. I gather your capital is being urged by the
British Government to reconsider or hold back from
including Hong Kong in any new aggregated European
list, on the basis that these are British passport
holders, who should constitute an exception. I hope
you can assist in this reconsideration on the basis
of your local knowledge of, for example
(a)
our own liberal and yet efficient
immigration regime, which, through a
compulsory ID card system and through
border checks, successfully prevents us
being used as a jumping-board for
illegal immigration into Europe;
(b)
the excellent bona fides of our
business and tourist travellers;
(c)
the clear right of abode provisions in
our law both now and, through the Joint
Declaration and Basic Law, after 1997,
which guarantee continued returnability;
(d) the need to maintain confidence in Hong
Kong's future more generally by not
taking unnecessary steps which may
therefore be misinterpreted as lack of
such confidence by significant
developed countries such as yours.