TNAG-1566-FCO40-2131-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 78

CONFIDENTIAL

DSR 11C

use

of

minorities who are

not, of the counter argument that few of the 60,000 would

in practice wish to settle in this country. Secondly,

this higher figure takes no account of the

possibility, which we discussed with Hong Kong officials

in February, that we might have amended the Order to give

British citizenship only to members of the ethnic

already BDTCS at the time it comes

This possible compromise has never been

endorsed by the minorities themselves as acceptable, and

the Hong Kong officials concluded that

probably be divisive and undesirable.

But to say

publicly that we cannot in equity exclude potential BDTCs

nevertheless invites the counter-argument that we

into force.

we and

it would

can do

so both in practical and in political terms. We should

simply be providing another pretext for supporters of the

ethnic minorities to attack the use of the figure of

60,000 as deliberately misleading.

In short, Sir Geoffrey Howe believes that any emphasis on

the UK immigration aspect of this question is fraught

with difficulties in Hong Kong terms.

In his view it

would be much better (and probably equally effective in

Parliament) to concentrate on the arguments that the

are fully the minorities

arrangements

we have made for

adequate, and that to grant them British citizenship

would be inconsistent with other aspects of our policy on

nationality.

CONFIDENTIAL