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Governor's question-and-answer session
Following is the transcript of the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten's question-and-answer session in the Legislative Council today (Thursday):
Mr Ip Kwok-him (in Chinese): Mr Governor, with regard to a matter of concern of the public, i.e. the right of abode legislation and the definition for permanent residency, I would like to ask this question; Legislative Councillors actually have been following up on this once every month and both the British and the Chinese Governments are talking over these issues at expert group level but in the course of this we all see that the public of Hong Kong must know with certainty and clarity the definition for permanent residents and their rights of abode in Hong Kong after 1997.
At this point in time the Chinese and the British Governments have not yet reached a consensus and that is why the Chinese side is saying that the provisional legislature will be enacting legislation. And we also heard that initially the Hong Kong Administration has considered a white bill for consultation purposes. Why is it that the Hong Kong Government does not release a white bill to consult the public of Hong Kong, just so the public of Hong Kong can more clearly come to grasp with the present state of development so that their anxieties and worries can be removed and allayed?
Governor: I'm glad the honourable member has asked that question because it gives us the opportunity to get one or two facts on the record. I listened to an honourable member, who is I think a member of the SAR executive council designate. on the radio this morning opining on this issue and I welcome this opportunity of informing him what the facts are as well as answering the question.
First of all I'd like to make it plain that there is no white bill or blue bill in draft. No white bill or blue bill because there isn't, alas, as yet a consensus on all the issues which we'd need to cover in legislation. We've got a consensus on about 95% of those issues but there still isn't agreement on a number of issues such as the position of adopted children, such as the way in which the children of ethnic minorities would claim right of abode after 1997, such as the position of the children of recent immigrants from China and how they would claim right of abode, whether it would come automatically on birth. I think it's a pity that we haven't got a consensus and I think it's a pity that we didn't get a consensus way back last autumn when I think that it was well within our grasp.
Why no consensus? Not I think because of any fundamental differences over right of abode but because I think some Chinese officials saw the right of abode issue as a way of trying to provide legitimisation for the provisional legislature. I don't think these arguments have had anything to do, or nothing substantial to do, with right of abode. Despite that, we've covered about 95% of the ground.