TNAG-1558-FCO40-2122-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 23

E.R

HONG KONG NATIONALITY ORDER IN COUNCIL

NOTE FOR WINDING-UP

INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION

My Lords, this has, not unexpectedly, been an excellent debate.

We have been particularly fortunate in being able to hear today

from......

whose valuable contributions to this debate stem from

their close personal experience of both Hong Kong and China.

My Lords, understandably our discussion has gone rather wider than

the substance and detail of the draft Order-in-Council attached

to the nationality White Paper. It is right to do so since

we need to see how the draft fits into the wider picture.

The framework is already in place. As I said at the beginning, the

action we take now must be consistent with the Sino-British

Agreement, and with the Hong Kong Act 1985. Together these have

set the parameters for the detailed nationality arrangements

proposed in the draft Order.

[ Within that framework, the Order as drafted has sought to be fair and

consistent as between all British Dependent Territories citizens

in Hong Kong. We want provisions which meet the real needs and

understandable concerns of the people there in a way that properly

complements the commitments we have already made to the people

of Hong Kong and to the Chinese Government. And we want to make

sure that the provisions we introduce work well in practice and

are clearly understood by all those who may be involved. While

there are of course some sincere differences about how these

/objectives can...