XN000022-1996-01-08 — Page 35

34

-

Question: Foreign Secretary, Ian Christie, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. On the assumption that Her Majesty's Government subscribes fully to endorsing the principle of executive-led government in accordance with the Letters Patent and the Basic Law, I wonder if I could ask you how you view recent attempts in the Legislative Council by some members, to usurp that executive authority and to limit the freedom of action of the Hong Kong Government? I refer in particular, by the publication in the legal supplement to the LegCo Gazette, of an Immigration Amendment Bill attempting to give LegCo a veto over the importation of labour.

Mr Rifkind: I think it is an inevitable feature of legislatures that they coexist with a degree of tension with the executive. Anyone who disputes that only has to consult President Clinton to know that even in the United States such tensions have been known to exist. And therefore, of course the individual legislators, sometimes the legislature as a whole, will try to extend its activity and its power, and that can often only be at the expense of the executive. In each territory, in each country, you have a Constitution which defines that relationship. There will always be a certain tension, as I have said, to try and alter that. That is the stuff of the world in which we live.

H

-

Question: Mr Foreign Secretary, since we are still living in a democracy here I hope that you'll allow me to express my feelings that I am not entirely satisfied with your reply to my British friend about the right of abode or permanent residency in Hong Kong. I hope you'll allow me to expand a little bit more. I'm not British, I'm Dutch. I've been here for more than 30 years. I think I have contributed to the well-being not only of myself, my family, but also of Hong Kong. And I was given the assurance by Lord Wilson when he was Governor of Hong Kong I think about five years ago already that the matter of permanent residency for people like me who had never done anything wrong from a lawful point of view - I was given the assurance by Lord Wilson - I think about five years ago that it had the highest priority. That's five years ago. We only have less than one-and-a-half years to go and lots of people like me are leaving Hong Kong because they don't have that - I'm not leaving, I will stay, thank you - because they don't have that guarantee that after the 1st July 1997 they can stay here, be here and go about their normal way of business. The promise was made five years ago. You tell us today, again, that it has the highest priority. I think, sir, in all fairness, it's quite time that you come back from Beijing, stop over in Hong Kong next week, and tell us that we do have the right of abode. Thank you.

-