TNAG-2103-FCO40-2995-Future-of-Hong-Kong-exchanges-with-the-Chinese-on-the-Basic--1990 — Page 109

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CONFIDENTIAL

001176 MDHIAN 8554

34

STAY

C. DIST ?

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 715

OF 26094OZ FEBRUARY 90

HKCO12/3

RECEIV

12 WAR 1990

*KOFFICER

PA

REGISTRY

Action Taken

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

28

YOUR TELNO 428 AND PEKING TELNO 289 TO YOU: BASIC LAW: FURTHER ACTION

1. WE ARE GENERALLY CONTENT WITH THE CHANGES TO THE SPEAKING NOTE PROPOSED IN PARAGRAPHS 3(A) AND (B) OF FIRST TUR. ON PARAGRAPH 3(C), WE AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE UNWISE TO GET DRAWN INTO A DISCUSSION ON THE GENERAL ISSUE OF VBPS.

2. WE HAVE TWO POINTS ON YOUR SUGGESTED ADDITION TO PARAGRAPH 4 OF THE SPEAKING NOTE. FIRST, OUR LEGAL ADVISERS TAKE THE VIEW THAT IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE TO MAKE A CLEAR STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE TO THE EFFECT THAT VRS AND VBP ARE NOT ORDINARILY RESIDENT, RATHER THAN TO RELY ON A REFERENCE TO THE RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF THE IMMIGRATION ORDINANCE, GIVEN THAT THESE PROVISIONS COULD ALWAYS BE AMENDED IN FUTURE. SECONDLY, WE THINK SOME PASSING REFERENCE NEEDS TO BE MADE TO THE STATUS OF CHILDREN OF VBPS BORN IN HONG KONG AFTER 1 JANUARY 1983, GIVEN THAT OUR ALTERNATIVE FORMULATION TO PARAGRAPH 2(4) OF ARTICLE 24 MIGHT BE CONSTRUED AS RENDERING THEM ELIGIBLE TO ACQUIRE PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS IN THE HKSAR.

3. WE THEREFORE PROPOSE THAT PARAGRAPH 4 OF THE SPEAKING NOTE READ AS FOLLOWS:

''THE BRITISH SIDE HAVE NOTED REPORTS THAT BASIC LAW DRAFTERS REMAIN CONCERNED THAT VIETNAMESE REFUGEES AND BOAT PEOPLE PRESENTLY STRANDED IN HONG KONG MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO ACQUIRE RIGHT OF ABODE IN THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION IF NO CHANGE IS MADE TO PARAGRAPH 2(4) OF ARTICLE 24. THE BRITISH SIDE CONSIDER THIS CONCERN TO BE UNFOUNDED. THE FACT IS THAT VIETNAMESE REFUGEES AND VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE YET TO BE SCREENED, OR WHO HAVE BEEN SCREENED OUT, ARE NOT CONSIDERED AS ORDINARILY RESIDENT, NOR ARE THEIR CHILDREN BORN AFTER 1 JANUARY 1983. SUCH PERSONS WOULD THEREFORE BE UNABLE TO FULFIL THE REQUIREMENT IN PARAGRAPH 2(4) OF ARTICLE 24 THAT THEY MUST HAVE ORDINARILY RESIDED IN HONG KONG FOR A CONTINUOUS PERIOD OF NO LESS THAN 7 YEARS AND WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO OBTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS IN HONG KONG.''

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