TNAG-1191-FCO40-1493-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1982 — Page 17

SECRET

DSR 11 (Revised)

DRAFT: X/letter/gigİKUKLY/MESY MAİN KOK

TYPE: Draft/Final 1-+

FROM:

Reference

Secretary of State

DEPARTMENT:

I

TEL. NO:

The Rt Hon William Whitelaw

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION|

TO:

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

CAVEAT..

..In Confidence

Your Reference

SUBJECT:

亨

Copies to:

Private Secretary No PS/Lord Belstead

PS/Mr Rifkind

Blind ces to:

Lord Gordon Lennox

Mr Donald

Mr Clift, HKGD

Mr Partridge, MVD

Sir Ian Sinclair, Leg

Adviser

Advisers

Mr Rushford, Legal

Mr Ceurvorst, WED

There has been an exchange of correspondence between our

departments ending with Wilfred Hyde's letter of 31 Augus

to Kelvin White about the proposal by the Unofficial Memb

of the Hong Kong Executive and Legislative Councils that

the term 'British national' should be entered in British

passports issued by the Governor of Hong Kong. Hyde wrot

after reference to you and recorded your strong oppositic

to the Hong Kong proposal.

Enclosures-flag(s)............

While I recognise some of the legal and administrative

complications outlined in your letter (to which I will

revert later) I am afraid that there are very strong

foreign policy reasons for agreeing to the Hong Kong

request. These reasons were outlined in White's letter.

I should like to underline them particularly since you

yourself have expressed concern at the possible implicati

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/for