TNAG-1560-FCO40-2124-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 86

4.

Following this

CONFIDENTIAL

initial

response

from the

Treasury,

B

Finance Department had agreed to push

the

reasury to agree

to the proposal that Hong Kong retain the full fee, as now, for a variety of reasons, technical as well as political. A

detailed letter,

therefore, issued from the Assistant

Finance Department to the Treasury on 16 December 1985.

in

C 5. Unfortunately, the Treasury were not convinced by our arguments, maintaining the line that Hong Kong could keep

its

is sued

but costs

that in

under elsewhere

with common

the

the fees for passports

Consular Fees

Order,

the

remainder must be surrendered.

argument.

6. During these deliberations

Hong Kong into

picture

political

NTD

Our inclination was

to bring

the

to

and

lend their weight

Finance Department

to

the

resisted

for

With

UK Government departments.

approaches we were on the point of

failure of the

this however on the ground s that this was purely a matter

these

seeking Hong Kong's

the use with

Treasury

draft of

letter to the

made have

issued

advice anyway

on

further

to arguments

D in

January when NTD

Treasury pointing

out

produced

that the

а

a

Treasury may

fundamental

error

in

equating

to

BD TCs

passports

(as BN(O) s will,

a

in

a

of course,

a

Dependent territory remain until 1997) with passports issued not in

in a Dependent

Territory, and that what we were seeking was merely continuation of present arrangements in Hong Kong concerning

to BD TCs. In view of this passports issued

we (HKD) agreed to hold off bringing Hong Kong into the argument officially

received from

the reasury, although we

of the

when problem

home was

According to Finance Department this latest chase the

until a

response was

did

inform

Carter

consultations.

letter will

issue

he

today (20 February). We will

Treasury for a reply.

for

CONFIDENTIAL