SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret
Secret
Confidential
Restricted
Unclassified
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
given right of abode in the United Kingdom, and
comparisons have been made with treatment by Portugal of
its nationals in Macao. It has been argued that such a
move would serve as a sanction against any violation of
the Joint Declaration after 1997; and that it would
promote stability in Hong Kong because people would not
feel it necessary to secure their future by emigrating.
The Government do not however believe that it would be
sensible, or acceptable to Parliament, to give over 3
million people the automatic right to enter this country,
even if the majority had no intention of exercising this
right. Any change in the status of Hong Kong BDTCs would
of course require a change in the 1981 British
Nationality Act, which was endorsed (as was earlier
legislation on the subject) by Parliament. Such a move
could be interpreted as a vote of no confidence in Hong
Kong's future.
XIII:
Conclusion
60.
If no negotiations had been held, 92% of Hong Kong
would have reverted to China in 1997 without any
safeguards. Instead, the Government concluded a
detailed, binding Agreement which provides for the
preservation of Hong Kong's economic, legal and social
systems, and the way of life of its people for 50 years
beyond 1997, and establishes the basis for a secure and
prosperous future for the territory. A great deal of
effort is now being put into the task of ensuring that
the Agreement is implemented fully. It is a difficult
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.