TNAG-1084-FCO40-1334-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 172

HICK 140||

RECEIVED IN REMY NO. 51

? 6 MAY 1981

DESK OFICER

INDEX

REGISTRY

PA

Action Taken

Secretary of State

PGO 2615

CONFIDENTIAL

наб to file

от

2015

262,

PS/Mr Blaker

Ents & M

(261)

2

21/5

HONG KONG NATIONALITY BILL

1. I have seen Richard Luce ́s minute to you of 18 May and have much sympathy with his argument that Hong Kong risks losing credibility by pushing so hard on the Nationality

Bill. The fact is that we have now done fairly well by them, See 263)

and their position is, after the amendments now inserted in the Bill, better than before.

2.

Certainly Richard Luce is right that any further attempt to amend the Bill would be out of the question. The Governor, who has I think done his best to get the purpose of the Bill over in Hong Kong, recognises that no further amendments to the Bill are possible.

3. However, the fallback position amounts in effect to asking the Home Secretary:

4.

(i) simply to acknowledge publicly what Richard Luce has already said in Committee ie that people of all our dependent territories remain UK nationals. We cannot give Hong Kong residents right of abode in the UK, and the unofficials now recognise this completely.

(ii) To make appropriate arrangements for an entry in their passports under 'National Status ́ (whose French translation is incidentally ́nationalité ́) on Page 1 which makes clear where they stand. On this point, I understand that Hong Kong people travelling in third countries require a clear statement of where they belong for foreign passport officials.

I believe there is a case for asking the Home Secretary to consider these two proposals.

The

19 May 1981

cc:

PS/LPS

PS/Mr Luce

Sir E Youde Mr Donald Mr Adams

HKGD

CONFIDENTIAL

PARB

PAR Blaker