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PS/Lord Belstead
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1000 WEDNESDAY,
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LORD BELSTEAD'S MEETING WITH MR MARTIN FLANNERY MP AND OTHERS
1.
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Lord Belstead will be seeing Mr Martin Flannery MP Mr Robert Parry MP, Mr Dennis Canavan MP and Mr Robert McTaggart MP at 10.00 am on 28 April. I attach a brief for this meeting.
2.
Mr Flannery requested the meeting in order to discuss the case of Ms Christine Vertucci, an American lawyer and editor at the Asia Monitor Resource Centre, who worked in Hong Kong for 4 years. Her permission to stay in Hong Kong expired on 5 February of this year and the Hong Kong authorities decided not to renew it, Ms Vertucci appealed to the Governor-in-Council against the decision but her appeal was refused. She petitioned the Secretary of State, who decided to uphold the decision of the Hong Kong Government.
3.
There has been considerable interest in Ms Vertucci's case both in Hong Kong and here. 143 MPS have signed an Early Day Motion condeming the Hong Kong Government's action and calling on the Secretary of State to reverse their decision. There have been a number of Parliamentary Questions connected with the case, mostly A from Mr Parry. Mr Parry called on Mr Atkins to discuss the case
on 24 February. Parliamentary and other interest has ceased, however, in recent weeks.
4.. Many people in Hong Kong believe that Ms Vertucci was not allowed to stay because of her involvement with local protest groups and her concern over social issues such as working conditons.
In any case it is the policy of the Hong Kong Government not to give reasons for individual decisions on immigration matters.
BAtraneis,
A note on UK Immigration rules and procedure in cases comparable to Ms Vertucci's is attached. UK procedures are some- what more flexible than Hong Kong's, particularly as regards providing information on the nature of grounds for refusal. But Hong Kong's security position is different and it would be difficult to alter their practice of not stating reasons, given. the complication of relations with China, Taiwan and other neighbouring Asian countries. For instance, they may on occasion wish to discriminate between the treatment of people from different places, without giving reasons.
21 April 1982
THIS IS A COPY
THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN RETAINED
IN THE DEPARTMENT UNDER
SECTION 3 (4) OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT 1958
RoZip
SECRET
R D Clift
Hong Kong and General Department
Patrick hilliamson
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