TNAG-1847-FCO40-2622-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 130

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Mr. Welsh

Holders of BDTC passports (1.2 million) felt very aggrieved as a group that they had lost rights that existed before 1962. The real problem was that we were losing people of talent both inside the civil service and out whom we needed to keep in Hong Kong to ensure a stable future for the territory up to and beyond 1997. We wanted these people to feel reassured about their future without having to leave to gain that reassurance. asked if ordinary people also wanted to go to the UK. The Governor said that many of these had BDTC passports and so shared the sense of grievance. But these people did not plan to leave and would not view the UK as a country they would wish to emigrate to. Mr. Rowlands said that the UK view was that to amend the provisions on right of abode would open a flood gate. He asked whether we could identify the size of the groups to whom new arrangements might be applied. The Governor said that there were specific groups who were looking to go to the UK. People wanted an insurance policy: a high proportion would not move if they had such a policy. A small group might move but the vast majority wanted to stay in Hong Kong. They found Hong Kong an attractive, exciting and prosperous place and he had the impression that those that left for other places did so with regret. Mr. Temple-Morris asked if an exception for the civil service only would be acceptable. The Governor said that it probably would but inevitably those left out would grumble. CS added that there seemed no real envy in Hong Kong of others securing passport rights. The Governor noted that in 1986 LegCo had supported right of abode for the local Indian population. At the time he had wondered whether such support was genuine; he had now concluded that it was. Mr. Jopling asked about UK entry by Hong Kong entrepreneurs. The Governor said that this was possible under the emigration rules but few wished to go to the UK. Mr. Shore added that it was also possible for migrants to enter the UK if they had special skills needed by the UK economy but this was not widely known. The Governor said the problem remained that we did not wish people to leave Hong Kong in the first place. CS added that there was a strong perception in Hong Kong that UK was not a society which welcomed immigrants.

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