TNAG-2103-FCO40-2995-Future-of-Hong-Kong-exchanges-with-the-Chinese-on-the-Basic--1990 — Page 93

CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 739

OF 27104OZ FEBRUARY 90

HKCO12 13

RECEIVED IN' REGISTRY

- 1 MAR 1990

CK OFFICER

REGISTRY

PA

:ction taken

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

004767

MDHIAN 8754

OUR TELNO 715 AND PEKING TELNO 304: BASIC LAW: FURTHER ACTION

1. DARWIN CHEN (GDB) SPOKE TO ZHENG WEIRONG ON ARTICLE 24(4) AT GALSWORTHY'S FAREWELL DINNER FOR KE LAST NIGHT. ZHENG CONFIRMED THE AMENDMENT WAS AIMED AT THE VIETNAMESE. HE ADDED THAT OTHER NON- CHINESE NATIONALS WHO HAD NOT ENTERED/ENTERED HONG KONG WITH VALID TRAVEL DOCUMENTS WOULD BE COVERED BY ARTICLE 24(6): THIS VIEW WAS SHARED BY HONG KONG DRAFTERS SUCH AS SIMON LI.

2. WHEN CHEN POINTED OUT THAT ARTICLE 24(6) WOULD EXCLUDE THOSE NON-CHINESE NATIONALS WHO WERE BORN IN HONG KONG AND HAD ORDINARILY RESIDED, IN HONG KONG FOR SEVEN YEARS OR MORE, BUT WHO HAPPENED TO HAVE A RIGHT OF ABODE ELSEWHERE, SAY THROUGH MARRIAGE, ZHENG APPEARED TO BE SURPRISED. HE AGREED THAT THERE COULD BE COMPLEXITIES WHICH REQUIRED FURTHER THINKING, AND WELCOMED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AN INFORMAL DISCUSSION ON FRIDAY (2ND MARCH).

3. IN VIEW OF THIS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT THE CHINESE SIDE ARE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THE PROBLEMS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED WOULD BE OVERCOME BY ARTICLE 24(6), WE SUGGEST AMENDING THE SPEAKING NOTE TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THIS IS NOT THE CASE. WE PROPOSE THAT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE BE ADDED TO THE END OF PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE SPEAKING NOTE:

''SUCH PERSONS WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED FOR BY PARAGRAPH 2(6) OF ARTICLE 24, IF THEY WERE BORN AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HKSAR OR IF THEY HAD THE RIGHT OF ABODE ELSEWHERE'

WE ARE FAXING TO YOU AND PEKING TWO ADDITIONAL QS AND AS TO COVER THIS POINT. WE ALSO SUGGEST THAT PEKING DELETE THE FIRST SENTENCE OF A1 SO AS NOT TO REPEAT WHAT IS IN THE SPEAKING NOTE.

4. NOW THAT WE ARE A LITTLE CLEARER ON CHINESE THINKING, WE SEE ADVANTAGE IN PEKING APPROACHING THE MFA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. AS REQUESTED IN SECOND TUR WE SHALL FAX TO PEKING A CONSOLIDATED TEXT OF THE SPEAKING NOTE (WHEN IT IS FINALISED) TOGETHER WITH THE

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