TNAG-1317-FCO40-1720-Future-of-Hong-Kong-meetings-of-the-Cabinet-Defence-and-Over-1984 — Page 24

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SECRET

MILIC 040/17

ACCEIVED IN FOCISTRY

11 SEP 1984

FROM: A C GALSWORTHY, HKD

DATE: 3 September 1984.

46

INDEX

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Sir P Cradock Private Secretary

Secy

पाले

CC: PS/PUS

Sir P Cradock

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1. I submit speaking (otes for ODK on 4 September on

Progress report on negotiations

Legislation

Undertakings.

2. It would be very helpful if we could get agreement from ODK tomorrow to propose end of June 1985 as the ratification date, since this would enable the Ambassador to speak on this at Round 22 on 5 and 6 September. The only potential difficulty which we know of at present is the Home Secretary's letter saying that he thinks the bill should deal with nationality. My own feeling is that this might be tolerable if it did so simply by means of an enabling clause allowing an order-in-council to be made at a later date. Such an order could be subject to parliamentary approval, and substantive debate of the subject thus postponed. The bill will in any case have to contain an enabling clause making possible subsidiary legislation for tidying up other matters, eg amending UK legislation which applies to Hong Kong.

3.Iunderstand that the Defence Secretary may raise the need to consider giving undertakings to members of an internal security force, if we were able to obtain Chinese agreement to this. This would require a further submission to Ministers in exactly the same way as would the recruitment of extra police for internal security purposes.

3 September 1984

Россий

A C Galsworthy

Hong Kong Department

SECRET