143
Mr Galsworthy, HKD
CONFIDENTIAL
(W43
Hong Kong Bill: Second Reading Debate: Nationality
The Secretary of State was grateful for your minute of 17 January about how we should respond to Mr Powell's amendment and when we should aim to lay an order in council in the Library of the House.
He entirely shares your view that it would be wrong and very dangerous to try to rush EXCO into accepting a draft order before they were ready. He also strongly endorses your point that if we indicated a willingness to produce the order quickly, we would simply invite pressure to include its substance in the Bill, as Mr Powell is demanding. has commented that the only reason for not including it in the Bill is that it is not ready and will not be for some time.
He
The Secretary of State is taken with the idea we discussed yesterday of accepting the UMELCO delegation's suggestion of a commitment to the House to lay the order within a given period. He suggests that there might be a problem if the specified date was too close - either before or after ratification date. From that point of view, the proposal that we should use the end of the year as our target date is probably right.
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Pichets
18 January 1985
(P F Ricketts)
cc: PS/Mr Luce
PS/PUS
Dr Wilson Legal Advisers
CONFIDENTIAL
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