HONG KONG DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTION TO PS/PS NO.10 LETTER
International Support
The Prime Minister may like to mention that we appreciate the
measures that the Singapore Government introduced last year allowing resident permit status up to 25,000 to Hong Kong people but without
requiring them to leave Hong Kong in the near future. We have been
asking other countries to take similar measures and we have had some
success. Our own British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill has been
introduced for this reason.
China/Hong Kong
Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew has consistently taken a helpful attitude to Hong Kong, a reacting favourably to our lobbying on confidence-building measures and being prepared to talk plainly to the Chinese about confidence problems. He is well aware of the
difficulties we have been going through with China. The Prime
Minister might like to brief him on the recent improvement in
atmosphere, made possible by the accommodation reached with China in
February over the development of democracy.
Negotiations in the Joint Liaison Group are now making solid
progress once again and, despite further difficulties ahead with the
Nationality package and international support, the Chinese seem to
be moderating their confrontational public approach to differences
over Hong Kong.
TOYAEU
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