TNAG-1082-FCO40-1332-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 143

FEDERATION

حمد

OF

HONGKONG INDUS

eneloved.

香港 工

業

мо

P.S.Y

Mulangan Pary

總 會

Federation of Hong Kong Industries

(INCORPORATED UNDER ORDINANCE NO. 26 OF 1960)

The Rt. Hon. William Whitelaw,

Home Secretary,

House of Commons,

London SW1,

UNITED KINGDOM.

Dear Sir,

OUR REF.

Or

گا

c. Rappor

YOUR REF.

in

DATE 20th February, 1981.

Subject to

مستعد

учаем

This couré

with wil

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at x . If

giring wich with letter

I'll dictate loofl:

201

هد

Sady Sull

As a member of the Hong Kong Association (Hong Kong Branch), I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting with two visiting Members of Parliament, Mr. Raymond Whitney and Mr. Edward Lyons to discuss the ramifications of the British Nationality Bill to Hong Kong's future.

To begin with, I wish to express on behalf of the Members of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries full concurrence with, and support for, the views expressed through the Hong Kong Association.

A copy of a statement setting out these views is attached for your reference.

الا 27.2

To reinforce the serious concern of businessmen over the British Nationality Bill and future of Hong Kong citizens, please allow me to introduce briefly the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.

We are a body of manufacturers established by statute twenty years ago, with 1,500 members, we represent the bulk of manufacturing activities in Hong Kong and these members account for some 70 per cent of our industrial workforce and a similar percentage of Hong Kong's domestic exports. Suffice it to say that our sector also generates very considerable employment and economic activities in other sectors such as banking, shipping, insurance, finance, communications, freight, transport, etc., much of which is related to the United Kingdom.

Having, I sincerely hope, established our credentials, I wish to convey to your goodself the very serious concern of the business sector with the British attitudes and policies towards Hong Kong, in particular over the said Bill, in relation to continued confidence in Hong Kong's economic future.

It is with much regret that we must record the general erosion of this confidence over the years. We strongly sensed the gradual diminishing of British support for Hong Kong in various international negotiations and in our access to the European Economic Community, especially with regard to the Multi-Fibre Arrangement negotiation four years ago where the British Government had taken the lead by imposing the most harsh restrictions over Hong Kong. Recently, the sharp

decrease in the British bearing of our defence costs, the inactive

.../p.2

ELDEX INDUSTRIAL BLDG., 12/F, UNIT A, 21, MA TAU WEI ROAD, HUNG HOM, KOWLOON, HONG KONG 香港九龍紅磡馬頭圍道廿一號義達工業大厦十二樓A座

電話:三

•

六五九〇六一(八線)

CABLE ADDRESS: "FEDINDUSTR" HONGKONG TELEPHONE: 3-659061 (3 LINES)

TELEX: 84652 HKIND HX