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Transcript of Secretary of State's Q&A session at luncheon
Following is the transcript of the question-and-answer session after the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt Hon Malcolm Rifkind's speech to a joint luncheon of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the British Chambers of Commerce today (Monday):
Question: Foreign Secretary, I wonder if you are aware of the widespread concern amongst British business interests in Hong Kong regarding the question of visa-free access to the United Kingdom by SAR passport holders after 1997; and if you are aware of this, will you be relaying this to your cabinet colleagues upon your return and convincing them that it is in British self-interest that these people should be able to visit the United Kingdom without a visa?
Mr Rifkind: Yes, I do recognise the importance of this subject. Of course at the moment there are many in Hong Kong who have visa-free access, there are many who do not, and one of the issues that needs to be addressed, both in relation to the United Kingdom but also, of course, in relation to many other countries that people might wish to visit, will be this question of visa-free access. At the moment we are waiting for some further information from the Chinese authorities with regard to the SAR passport, a number of matters that are relevant to this question, but I would expect discussions to take place within the British Government in the very near future over this matter. I appreciate it is an issue on which it would be helpful to clarify the conclusions we will want to reach at an early date, and I recognise that from the point of view in particular of the Hong Kong business community who have to do so much travelling around the world, that this is a matter of considerable priority.
So I will be reporting to my cabinet colleagues when I return to London some of the views that have been expressed. Do forgive me if I do not seek to anticipate, today, what the outcome will be. I have, of course, to discuss the views that I've heard, the representations that I've received, the issues at stake, with my cabinet colleagues, but I would hope that we would then be able to move towards a conclusion of this so that any uncertainty can be resolved at an early date.
Question: Mr Foreign Secretary, people older than you, like I myself, have seen many British colonies getting independence in a very smooth way. For instance in the case of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew even encouraged British people to stay. I don't know why the relationship between the British Government, Hong Kong and China is far from being satisfactory. We would like your comments in this respect. Thank you.