TNAG-1377-FCO40-1825-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 74

CONFIDENTIAL

4.

The Opposition have now moved a number of amendments to

the Bill, including one which if passed would remove the

nationality provisions from the Schedule to the Bill. We are

clearly therefore in danger of losing the all party support we

have enjoyed so far on the Hong Kong agreement. It is important that we retain this, not least to ensure smooth and

timely passage of the Bill, which as you know has to be on the

statute book by the end of June if we are to meet our

commitment to ratify the Hong Kong Agreement. I am therefore

inclined to meet the sense of the House on this matter.

5. I believe that we should agree that in the special

circumstances of Hong Kong it would be appropriate to put forward

the terms of a draft Order in Council for discussion in Hong Kong

and preliminary debate in the House. In light of the opinions

expressed in Parliament and in Hong Kong, we would then lay before the House a draft Order in Council, revised if necessary, which

would be debated in the normal way under affirmative resolution

procedures. I understand that there is indeed a precedent for

this procedure in the discussion of the draft Dairy Produce Quotas Regulation 1984. The terms of this Order were laid before the House on 29 June 1984 and discussed in a wide-ranging

debate on a motion for adjournment on 3 July. A revised

draft Order was then laid before the House on 16 July and debated

in the normal way on 18 July.

6. I realise that this will require slightly more Parliamentary time. But when we decided to include nationality

in this Bill, we recognised that the House might object and

oblige us to introduce a second Bill. That would have been

very inconvenient, as well as requiring yet more Parliamentary time. If we follow the course I am suggesting, we should avoid that, and ensure the smooth and speedy passage for the -

Bill. I should be grateful for your agreement to this

course, and that of the other addressees of this minute, as

soon as possible.

one

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CONFIDENTIAL