CONFIDENT IAL
They also
of Mr Sital, the Chairman of the Council of Hong Kong Indian
Association, and Mr Narain called on Mr Maude in October.
called on the Secretary of State, Mr Maude and the Home Secretary in
November. Over 50 MPs have written to the Prime Minister or FCO
Ministers on behalf of the ethnic minorities. Draft replies to
these letters will be submitted as soon as the Secretary of State
has approved the reply to Mr Harilela.
5. We agreed with the Home Office that it would be better to delay
replying to these letters until the details of the nationality
package had been announced. OD(K) decided on 12 December that no special arrangements would be made for the ethnic minorities and that they would have to take their chances with the rest of the population under the points scheme.
6. The Council of Hong Kong Indian Associations have already
expressed great disappointment that they will receive no special
treatment under the scheme. We can therefore expect further
criticism from their supporters when draft legislation is put
forward The ethnic minorities will almost certainly continue to press their case by trying to get amendments inserted in the Bill during the Committee stage. The Foreign Affairs Committee, to which
the Council of Hong Kong Indian Associations gave evidence,
recommended that the ethnic minorities should be given British
citizenship. Lord Bonham-Carter and Baroness Ewart-Biggs also raised the question of the ethnic minorities during the House of
Lords debate on the statement on 20 December.
Numbers
7.
According to Hong Kong Government's statistics, the total number
of ethnic minority BDTCs in 1985 was almost 12,000, of whom some 40%
were Indian. But, as Mr Harilela explains in his letter of
7 December to the Secretary of State, in the meantime some of these
BDTCS have already left Hong Kong. Others (eg the Pakistanis)
already hold second passports or would be eligible to apply for such passports should they so wish. The Council of Hong Kong Indian
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