XN000022-1997-02-04 — Page 2

1.

Statement by the Governor

Following is a statement today (Tuesday) by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopler Patten, on British Government's granting of British citizenship to members of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong who are solely British nationals:

I warmly welcome the announcement today by the British Government that it will grant British citizenship to members of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong who are solely British nationals. This is an excellent Chinese New Year present to Hong Kong. I am grateful to British Ministers and particularly to the Home Secretary who has listened carefully to those of us who have pursued this cause and who has recognised the strength of the arguments that have been made.

It has been widely acknowledged in Hong Kong that the group in question represents a very special case. Without this pledge, their status after 30th June 1997 would have been uncertain: entitled to right of abode in Hong Kong without Chinese nationality and to British nationality without the right of abode in Britain.

The decision today ends this uncertainty. It is a tribute to the patient and determined efforts of Legislative Council members; of members of both Houses of Parliament in Britain; of the Hong Kong Government and other senior figures here; and, above all, of the representatives of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. The case has been put with dignity and vigour; and today the right decision has been made.

The next step will be to bring forward as swiftly and efficiently as possible the necessary legislative measures to make it possible for those concerned to apply for British citizenship.

We campaigned actively to secure a British passport for war widows and equally hard for visa free access to the UK for SAR passport holders. I am delighted that this decision on the ethnic minorities gives us a hat trick.

End