TNAG-1856-FCO40-2631-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-memoranda-and-minutes-of-me-1989 — Page 189

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

香港立法局

28 June 1989

53

————————一九八九年六月二十八日

defined by the United Nations draft. Children are not borrowed people nor for that matter do they expire with the lease and thus they have a right to British citizenship. Sovereign countries must accept this obligation and ensure that their legislation is in accordance with the letter as well as the spirit of the draft convention and must not enact laws to exclude this right let alone claim that there is no such obligation. I believe it is appropriate to point out that those Hong Kong born minority who are not ethnic Chinese face the serious prospect of becoming stateless. Lest it be misunderstood I am not advocating that Hong Kong British subjects be put into categories. On the contrary the example I have given is to highlight one plight of our children.

Sir, nationality is an inherent right so fundamental to all our children for without nationality they have no identity, and without identity how can they be expected to grow and develop and live as dignified human beings.

With these words, Sir, I support the motion.

MR. DAVID CHEUNG: Sir, before I begin, I wish to ask my honourable colleagues to forgive me because it would take me more than five minutes to finish my speech because I have too strong a feeling towards the motion.

I wish to speak as a concerned citizen, legislator and educationalist.

The childhood experiences of a person have vital effects on his future well- being. For this reason, the home and social environment must be conducive to children's wholesome development.

With the disintegration of the social institutions of marriage and the family, many children today are brought up in problem homes. They suffer from parental neglect and abuse in one form or another. My honourable colleagues have already addressed and will continue to address these issues today.

I have often said and wish to reiterate that the social environment of Hong Kong is not conducive to the wholesome growth of children and young people. I am not talking about the material aspect because materially, most of our children and young people are more than adequately provided for. In fact, sometimes I feel that they have been too well provided for, which whets their appetite for further material pursuits.