TNAG-2118-FCO40-3024-Future-of-Hong-Kong-general-1990 — Page 102

consultation in Hong Kong a second draft was published in

February 1989 for further public consultation. A final draft was

prepared in February 1990, and was promulgated by the Chinese

National People's Congress on 4 April.

5.

The British Government followed the drafting process extremely

closely and maintained a detailed dialogue with the Chinese behind

the scenes. As a result of our representations, a number of

amendments have been made. Although there are some provisions which

we would have worded differently, the Basic Law is on the whole an acceptable reflection of the Joint Declaration.

Nationality

6. The exodus of talent from Hong Kong is a problem which the

British Government takes very seriously. On 20 December 1989 the

Foreign Secretary announced in the House of Commons a package of

measures designed to give key people in the public and private

sectors the confidence to remain in Hong Kong. Under this scheme

full British passports will be offered to a maximum of 50,000 heads of household in the public and private sectors, without the

beneficiary having to leave the territory. The British Nationality

(Hong Kong) Bill, a piece of legislation designed to implement the

scheme, was introduced in the House of Commons on 4 April and

received its Second Reading on 19 April.

7.

Despite some inevitable disappointment over numbers, the initial

reaction in Hong Kong to the announcement of the package was a

cautious welcome. However, the Chinese Government have made a

number of unhelpful statements denouncing the scheme as a violation

of the Joint Declaration and a device to maintain British influence

after 1997. They have also tried to undermine the scheme by

indicating that recipients of British passports would not be

eligible for British consular protection in Hong Kong after 1997 and by extending the nationality qualifications for posts in the SAR

Government laid down in the Basic Law.

8 Since announcing our nationality package, we have been taking

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