750
lave to
has
late
sed.
will
id's .vill
ive
ave
hat nic
ive
he
ng ng
ke
1k
nt
J;
I
>
#51
Events in China:
[ 6 JUNE 1989 ]
4.45 p.m.
Implications for Hong Kong
752
in in the Statement, the granting of right of abode all those whom the noble Lord wishes to see with that right of abode means more than doubling the ethnic minority population of the United Kingdom. As he will be aware, there has been an expression of view by successive governments on immigration matters which encompasses that wish which the noble Lords, Lord Walston and Lord Wyatt of Weeford, have just expounded. There is a very real practical difficulty involved which I do not think anyone minimises. It is important to see whether or not we can find other means of reassurance for the Hong Kong people, the plight of whom under present circumstances I certainly appreciate.
At the same time, it is extremely important to bear in mind the need to secure the future of Hong Kong as the thoroughly outstanding place that it has been over the years, and which we sincerely hope we can bring about in the future, post-1997.
The noble Lord, Lord Walston, mentioned somebody claiming to have been turned away by the embassy in Peking. Perhaps I may reassure the noble Lord that that is not in fact the case. There was no truth in that report or in what was said. The individual concerned,
who is a Hong Kong TV reporter, was not told that the embassy could not accept her. She was advised to stay in her hotel until the situation on the streets improved slightly, and other British people staying in the same hotel were given the same advice;
and other Hong Kong journalists would be able to make their way safely to the airport and to other places of safety once the immediate threat had lifted.
Lord MacLehose of Beoch: My Lords, I should like to thank the Minister for the excellent statement, for the horror that he has expressed about events in China, for his sympathy for the people of Hong Kong, and for his detailed account of the action which the Government have taken.
Lord Glenarthur: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord MacLehose, for those comments, and particularly for his support of the main issue, which is that tearing up the agreement would really be disastrous. Whatever the circumstances, it is much better to do all that we can to build upon what has been achieved, which has been so widely acclaimed in the past. That does not lead me to underestimate the difficulties in taking matters forward.
With the rapidly changing events, the exact details of which we do not know at present, I am sure that he is absolutely right to have held fast to the very detailed international agreement, the whole sense of which is to ensure that what has happened in China, what has happened in the past and what is happening today, does not happen in Hong Kong. It is very wise to have acted in that way and not to have followed the advice which some have given, in dismay, to tear up that excellent agreement.
So far as the question of reassurance to the people living in Hong Kong is concerned and the idea of a home of last resort, which is very much picking up the theme of the noble Lord, Lord Bonham-Carter, of course I take that point. The noble Lord will not be surprised if I point out to him the difficulties that such a proposition brings forward, but nevertheless these and other issues will have to form part of our consideration over the coming weeks.
With regard to the concern that I have expressed in your Lordships' House before, and which the noble Lord, Lord Wyatt, has expressed today, about reassuring the Hong Kong people about their future, about nationality or other arrangements in the United Kingdom, I ask the Minister to reconsider whether a home of last resort is not a rather different proposition from the issuing of British Nationality to 3 million people. The circumstances in which that would arise would be quite different and I think would be better understood in this country.
Having said that, I realise that this is an issue which will have to be discussed on another occasion and as events unfold. Meanwhile, I should like to congratulate the Minister and thank him for his Statement.
HL 24 G2
The Earl of Onslow: My Lords, I should like to ask one question, and also to thank my noble friend for something. First, does the Minister not recall, when Amin was particularly brutal, that ultimately we had to take British passport-holders from East Africa? Surely that is a parallel to the home of last resort. Surely that is the precedent. It would be much better to admit them now rather than when everything had gone totally wrong. Let us hope that matters will not go totally wrong, but if there were to be large numbers of people floating about the China Sea clutching worthless British passports we should have to take them in anyway. Is it not better to do that before rather than after it becomes inevitable, because then one gets the reputation for being statesmanlike?
Secondly, I should like to thank his office for being so kind and helpful with regard to my daughter. She has now sent me a telegram that she is safe and well in Xian.
Lord Glenarthur: My Lords, I am glad to hear from my noble friend that his daughter has reported that she is safe and well. I am glad that we were able to help over that.
So far as comparison with other events are concerned, whether it be Amin or anybody else, it is easy to draw those sort of comparisons but the fact is that the figures that we are talking about are quite colossal. While not wishing to develop the theme in too great a detail because it is really impossible to do so at present, all I can say to my noble friend is that he must be aware of the fact that some might not find it as easy to accept those large numbers as he might be. Nevertheless, as I have said, we shall look at everything and see what can be done.
Lord Molloy: My Lords, will the Minister not agree that the free world will now know the grave concern that this nation has for the people of Hong Kong? That being so, ought we not hasten to pursue all the measures that are required to make Hong Kong a member of the comity of free nations so that democracy can be introduced there? I am sure that the Hong Kong people and the free world will
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.