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It is desirable that a +
Jong-term programme for this Operation Haven be worked out for the period, including the next thirteen years and the period of guarantee, that is to say the fifty years after 1997, during the currency of the Joint Declaration concerning Hong Kong.
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2. That HM Government should explore further the possibility of making available to Hong Kong citizens a travel which allows the freedom of travel that is available holder of a full British passport for those who wish it and can prove eligibility. The travel documents mentioned in the Draft Agreement will not command trouble-free acceptance by other countries. Clearly, these will be regarded by immigration authorities as sub-standard documents of dubious standing.
3. That, as a matter of urgency, the United Kingdom re-examine its own immigration policy and administrative procedures with a view to easing the present restrictions on the right of abode.
This is important because the UK, in order for its appeal for international assistance to succeed, must be seen to be giving some lead in its own immigration policy.
It may be argued that steps such as these might be construed by the People's Republic of China as an unfriendly act. While this possibility cannot be ruled out, it is unlikely. The PRC has often stressed the importance of stability in the approach to 1997, as well as that of the fifty years covered by the Joint Declaration, and its firm intention to recognize the special freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong citizens. In Hong Kong the search for safety nets for the post-1997 period has already begun, and Britain's formal involvement in this process will be nothing more than a direct response to the general desire for tangible safeguards of these freedoms as well as the prevention of panic-stricken pre-emptive flight.
Both for reasons of common humanity and of national self-respect, we hope that you will bring these considerations to the attention of HM Government and to the nation when the Agreement is debated.
Yours sincerely,
N
Alan Birch
Formerly of the Department of
History
University of Hong Kong
Alim bine
Mark Elvin
Asian Studies Centre
St Antony's College
Oxford
Felix Patrike eff
Department of International
Studies
University of Warwick
Mark Elvin
ubaise's
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