TNAG-2032-FCO40-2895-Visit-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Co-1990 — Page 70

PORRIGE SUC:

SPEECH

HONG KONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 15 JANUARY 1990

7-

FORRIGE SECRETARY (CONTD) -

cannot be ignored, Ladies and Gentlemen, and I think that the recent

and continuing discussions, debates and controversy at home make

that clear. We have to concentrate on getting this scheme through

and that I believe we can do.

We could have gone

We could have gone for an easier option.

for something which simply involved a guarantee of settlement of

some kind without full British citizenship.

We did not do that.

We spent a lot of time considering it but we did not do that because we judged that it was citizenship rather than anything else which most effectively meet our purpose of enabling people to stay here in Hong with confidence. We want people to continue to contribute to the dynamism and prosperity of this Territory so we chose a road which was I suppose the higher road, more difficult immediately in political terms but which we decided was the only road which would actually serve the purpose which you had put into our minds and

and this is a which we accepted as necessary. Our obligation

point we are putting to the Chinese in response to their criticisms - under the Joint Declaration to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity meant that nothing less that what I announced would do,

whatever the difficulties.

That is one of two crucial decisions on Rong Hong which we

took before Christmas and I am well aware that it is in fact a decision which people felt were needed from the British Government and our contribution to the rebuilding of confidence.