TNAG-1378-FCO40-1826-Future-of-Hong-Kong-legislation-Hong-Kong-Bill-1985 — Page 146

AMENDMENT NO

RESIST

LINE TO TAKE

CONFIDENTIAL

14

The effect of this amendment

I will now consider amendment no

would be to remove the nationality provisions from the Schedule to the Bill in their entirety.

The Government firmly believe that paragraph 2 should remain in the

Schedule to the Bill. The measures concerned arise directly out of

the agreement and the UK Memorandum. They are part of the same

package. It is, therefore, appropriate that all such matters should

be dealt with in this Bill. Silence on nationality would cause

great uncertainty in Hong Kong and might cast doubt on the Government's willingness to implement the provisions in the UK Memorandum. Since it was made clear that nationality questions

were among the primary concerns of the people of Hong Kong, the Government consider that this would be very damanging.

In the debate on the Second Reading a number of hon and rt hon

Members made it clear that they were not satisfied that there would

be a sufficient opportunity to discuss the draft Order in Council in detail under positive resolution procedures.

The Order in Council procedure is inevitable owing to the timing constraints on this Bill, which I have explained to the House. The

Government have however moved as far as they can to meet the wishes of the House on this point. We are prepared to agree that the House

will be given the opportunity to have a preliminary debate on the Order if it wishes. It will be an Order with green edges, as some Members put it. In light of the points made in that debate the Government will then if necessary withdraw and revise the draft

Order before laying it again before the House for debate in the

normal way under affirmative resolution procedures. It will thus be

open to the House to suggest individual amendments without having to oppose or reject the Order as a whole. I must emphasise again that

CONFIDENTIAL