TNAG-1392-FCO40-1864-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-for-meetings-and-visits-1985 — Page 98

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CONFIDENTIAL

Mr Ehrman, HKD (or)

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FUTURE OF HONG KONG

You may find it useful to have some notes on the following "ongoing" future subjects.

1.

NATIONAL I TY

2. We have submitted the Nationality White Paper and Order in Council to the Secretary of State. In parallel, the Home Office are submitting to their Ministers. It will then go to OD(K) out of

committee.

3.

We need to reply to Hong Kong telling them which of their drafting amendments have been accepted and which rejected. We also need, separately, to tell them that Ministers have formally rejected Sir SY Chung's suggestion that children of BN (O)s should be able to become British citizens if born in the United Kingdom or dependent territories after 1997. The Home Office are preparing drafts for both of these and will send them to us first thing next week. It is important to get the drafting comments to Hong Kong as soon as possible as they will be publishing a White Paper at the same time as us

4.

The Home Office will be preparing a press line on the publication of the White Paper which they will clear with us. We should ask Hong Kong to clear any briefing they propose to issue with us.

PAS SPORTS

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5. We have sent out to Hong Kong and Peking a public line on passports to be taken on the publication of the Nationality Order in Council. has been agreed with Hong Kong and Peking and I have written to the Home Office seeking their final

agreement. I see no need to submit this to Ministers.

6.

We do need to submit to Ministers however on the whole question of passports. Wilfrid Hyde has written on this to Nicholas Barrington and NTD are to submit. They are stymied however by continuing difficulties with the Treasury on the question of what will happen to fees derived from the issue of BN (O) passports. I some months now. The whole episode is a comedy of errors, including a letter by Finance Dept to the Treasury putting forward the wrong proposals and all the papers being lost by a clerk in Finance Dept.

CONFIDENTIAL