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From: P J Westmacott Date: 15 January 1986
CC: Sir W Harding
Dr Wilson
PRU
Mr Ottaway MP
HONG KONG: MEETING WITH MPS
1.
Mr Waddington and Mr Renton met a group of MPs in the Foreign Secretary's room at the House last night in advance of tomorrow's debate on the Order in Council. There was a good turn out and most who attended felt that the occasion had been worthwhile.
2. The following points need pursuing:
(a) On ex-Servicemen, Sir Peter Blaker said he thought that Section 4 (5) of the BNA would apply to most of the 400-odd people in question, since the majority had been members of a Volunteer defence force. His own father had been a member of this force. Christopher D'Almada, a well-known Hong Kong Portuguese, knew much of the background. Mr Renton commented that it had proved difficult to get at the facts, but he would investigate Sir Peter's claim further.
(b) Most of those present took Mr Waddington's point about the difficulty of granting British citizenship to the non-ethnic Chinese BDTCS. But Cyril Townsend and Ivan Lawrence (in particular) argued that undertakings could be given to the non-ethnic Chinese, comparable to those given already to special groups such as the police. Mr Waddington agreed to look
...
at forms of words, since he wished to be helpful, though Mr Renton reminded the group that the Government had already said that it would expect the Government of the day to "consider sympathetically
on a case by case basis in the light of the particular circumstances" whether to admit any British nationals forced to leave Hong Kong and having nowhere else to go. He also pointed out that granting right of abode, or citizenship, would not solve the problem of nationality for non-ethnic Chinese resident in Hong Kong.
(c) Sir Paul Bryan said it was important for the non-ethnic Chinese to understand how and when they should
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