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the surface. The Prime Minister has already made it clear that it
would be impossible for the British Government to give right of
abode in Britain to all the people of Hong Kong. The potential
practical difficulties would be overwhelming. The British
Government are however working urgently on a scheme to provide the
assurance of the right of abode in the UK to some Hong Kong people
on the basis of value of service to Hong Kong as well as connections
with Britain. The aim will be to encourage people whose skills and
talents Hong Kong needs to remain in the territory.
Basic Law
The Basic Law will be a constitutional charter for Hong Kong, giving
legal effect under under the Chinese constitution to the provisions
of the Joint Declaration. As it will be a Chinese law, it is being drafted by a committee appointed by the Chinese authorities and will be enacted by the Chinese National People's Congress. The first draft was published in April 1988. After a period of consultation in Hong Kong, and subsequent revision, a second draft was published in February 1989 for further public consultation.
The current public consultation period in Hong Kong was to have finished at the end of July but was effectively suspended following
the events of 3/4 June. The Chinese authorities have now indicated that the consultation period will be extended until the end of October, but that they intend to proceed with promulgation of the final version in the Spring of 1990 as originally planned.
Although the drafting of the Basic Law is formally a Chinese responsibility, Britain as co-signatory to the Joint Declaration has the right to ensure that the provisions of the Basic Law fully
accord with the terms of the Joint Declaration. The Government have
therefore been following the drafting process extremely closely and have maintained a detailed dialogue with the Chinese behind the scenes. The main areas of public concern now are the political structure (see paragraph on representative government); the stationing of Chinese troops in Hong Kong; and the scope for the imposition of national laws (including martial law) in Hong Kong. The Government will be pursuing these and other more detailed and technical points with the Chinese authorities through a variety of
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