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19 APRIL 1990
to continuing to give them the night of abode there. to continuing to allow them to work there and to continuing to allow them to leave and return there.
Mr. Robert Adley (Christchurch): My right hon. and learned. Friend will know that I do not share some of my ,hon. Friends' concerns about the effect of this proposal on United Kingdom immigration policy, but I want to follow up his point about the attitude of the Chinese Government to those who may take up these passports. Is not it plain from the memorandum attached to the 1984 treaty that it was clearly seen by both the British and Chinese Governments that this possibility, if enacted as legislation. would in effect deprive the people taking advantage of my right hon. and learned Friend's proposals of their Chinese nationality? If that is so. how could it possibly make sense to say that we are encouraging people to stay in Hong Kong when, by enacting this legislation, we are virtually making them stateless after 1997?
Mr. Waddington: We are certainly not making them stateless; we are giving the British citizenship-the opposite of statelessness. I must make it plain that in the United Kingdom memorandum we never undertook not to grant British citizenship to people in Hong Kong before 1997. We made it absolutely clear that people who will cease to be British dependent territories citizens in 1997 will be eligible to retain an appropriate status that will not involve a right of abode in the United Kingdom. So what we are doing is entirely in accord with the agreement reached with the Chinese in 1984.
Mr. Michael Shersby (Uxbridge): Will my right hon. and learned Friend be kind enough to explain why it is proposed to extend the right to apply for citizenship beyond British dependent territory citizens to holders of Hong Kong certificates of identity and to any of the eligible categories who apply for BDT citizenship before the Bill receives Royal Assent:
Mr. Waddington: It would be unjust if we did not because there is no difference between the qualifications of a person who is aiready a BDTC and a person who is entitled to become a BDTC but whose application has not yet been processed. Therei ore. it would not for one moment be considered fair if one were to put the shutters down on those who by luck rather than good management have become BDTCs now and discriminate against those waiting in the queue.
Mr. Max Madden (Bradford. West): Before the Home Secretary moves on to the detailed arrangements under the scheme. will he address himself to three particularly vulnerable groups in Hong Kong-the non-Chinese ethnic minorities who will be stateless after 1997. the non-British spouses of British citizens who are in great difficulty and anxiety and the pitiful handful of 24 war widows whose position remains. disgracefully, most uncertain? Will he give the House clear assurances about the safeguards that will be made to protect those three small but vulnerable groups?
Mr. Waddington: If the hon. Gentleman will be patient for a while. I shall deal with the second and third categones. On the first category, the hon. Gentleman will remember that steps were taken some time ago to ensure that no one would be left stateless after 1997, and at the same time an undertaking was given to the non-ethnic
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Chinese in Hong Kong that if by any chance an individual were to come under severe pressure after 1997 we would consider sympathetically his application to come here.
Let me deai now with the explanatory note that I have laid before the House and which sets out the selection scheme that the Government have in mind. It is the product of extensive discussions with the Hong Kong Government and it is based on principles originally proposed by them.
The scheme that we envisage would be divided into four separate sections. Seventy-two per cent. or 36,200. of the 50.000 places would be allocated under a general section. open to people from a wide range of walks of life who had a key role in maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and successful administration. They would come from the following seven broad areas of work-business and management. accounting, engineering, information ser- vices. medicine and science, law and education. The distribution of places to the various occupational groups within those broad areas would take account of the rate at which their members were emigrating, to focus the assurances where the need is greatest.
A number of places would be set aside for other technically or professionally qualified people. who do not fit neatly into the listed occupational groups out who perform essential functions. Applicants in the general allocation section would be marked on a points system taking account of age, experience. qualifications. special circumstances. proficiency in English. British links and community service. Age is important because the scheme is intended to reflect Hong Kong's future need for personnei, and emigration is particularly high in the 30 to 40 age range.
Points for special circumstances would be a means of. for example, recognising exceptional individual achieve- ment or of giving extra weight to occupations suffering higher emigration rates than others within the same group. As to British links, this will include service with a British firm and the Bill does not, therefore, contain provisions for a secondment scheme as originally envisaged. How best to give assistance to British companies will no doubt feature in our detailed discussions on the Bill.
A points system is not familiar to us in Britain, but it is weil understood in Hong Kong as a result of its use by the Australian and Canadian immigration authorities, and considerable work has gone into devising one which would be as fair and objective as possible, with the governor's advisory committee playing an important and impartial role. The Independent Commission Against Corruption. which will be represented on the advisory committee, has already been involved in designing the way in which the points system wiil operate, and will monitor the practical application of this as of other aspects of the scheme.
The second section of the scheme is for key entrepreneurs. The House knows that Hong Kong has a number of well-known and respected entrepreneurs who have extensive investments there, who employ substantial numbers of peopie and whose departure would do much to undermine confidence. We therefore envisage that the scheme would reserve a small number of places-not more than 1 per cent. of the total-for people in that category.
The third section would provide places for Hong Kong's disciplined services-that is. the police, prison. immigration, customs, fire and auxiliary air force services. weil as the Independent Commission Against Corrupuon and the garrison. Places will be allocated to
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