A VISION OF THE FUTURE
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communities in the United States, Canada and Australia. Many companies in the private sector are doing the same. But we do not only welcome those who have left and who wish to return. We also welcome anyone who wants to come and help us build the future of this territory, if they have the skills and experience that we need. Hong Kong is a city in which people of all nationalities can play a part. We must be ready, if the need arises, to find replacements for our home-grown talent in the international market-place. And we must ensure that our immigration policies are flexible enough to permit this.
Relations with the United Kingdom
Another feature of the past year has been the evolution of our relationship with the United Kingdom. Contrary to some popular myths, this government has for many years been left essentially free to get on with the job of running Hong Kong by itself. We have sole responsibility for our internal affairs, such as education, social welfare and medical services. For the past 20 years or so, we have made all our own policy decisions in other important areas such as the economy, trade and finance.
As a result, we have developed some interests which are separate from those of the United Kingdom. Sometimes we have found ourselves on opposite sides of the negotiating table. In the past year or two, for instance, we have had to negotiate about the relative shares of costs incurred by the British Garrison in Hong Kong and we have had discussions about the part the United Kingdom plays in resettling Vietnamese refugees from Hong -Kong. When this happens, you can be sure that your government argues hard on Hong
Kong's behalf.
We have also put forward a clear Hong Kong case on the nationality issue. I have said that I fully understand and sympathise with the widespread hope in Hong Kong that Britain would grant the right of abode in the United Kingdom to all Hong Kong British nationals. I have also said that, in my view, such a move, if it were possible, would have à very positive effect on confidence in Hong Kong, and that the number who would actually leave would be small.
The British Government has said that it does not believe it is possible to grant the right of abode in Britain to all Hong Kong British nationals. Instead it has promised a scheme under which the right of abode in the UK will be granted to some people in Hong Kong in a way designed to encourage them to stay in the territory. We have been assured that work is going ahead as fast as it can on such a scheme. I hope that the details will be announced as soon as possible. To have the effect we all want on maintaining Hong Kong's economic growth and social stability, the scheme will need to cover three important points. It will need to be as generous as possible; it will need to minimise divisiveness, so far as possible; and it will need to ensure that those covered can acquire the right of abode in the UK without having to leave Hong Kong.
I very much hope that the scheme, when it is announced, will help to provide greater confidence and stability in our community. Meanwhile it cannot be right to say that we want either everything or nothing: a scheme that provides something must be better than no scheme at all.
Vietnamese Boat People
Another problem which has been much on the minds of all of us this year is the continuing inflow of boat people from Vietnam. Since my address to this Council last October, some 34 000 Vietnamese have arrived in this small and crowded territory. This is the highest