DRAFT B
Revised draft
I enclose a copy of the statement which Douglas Hurd made
in the House of Commons on 20 December setting out the
reasons why we have decided to give British citizenship
to a limited number of people from Hong Kong.
Our last major responsibility of empire is to secure the
best possible future for Hong Kong. We have a clear duty to maintain good government and prosperity in Hong Kong
up to 1997 and, we hope, beyond. This is a matter of
honour for Britain --a-moral obligation which we cannot ignore.
It is also in our interest to keep Hong Kong prosperous. Many jobs in this country depend upon it. Britain's
total trade with the territory amounts to over £4 billion
a year. Our investments there exceed £2 billion. About 1,000 British companies operate in Hong Kong.
Last June's tragic events in Tianamen Sqaure caused shock waves in Hong Kong. Both the territory's prosperity and its good government are being put at risk by the
emigration from the territory of its most talented and
highly qualified people. Both the private and public
sectors are affected. Experienced managers, engineers,
doctors, nurses and teachers from Hong Kong find that
their skills are in demand in countries like Canada and
Australia. The great majority of these professionals would rather stay in Hong Kong. They are almost all
ethnic Chinese and their families and careers are in the
territory. But they also want the assurance which
possession of foreign citizenship and foreign passport give the assurance that if necessary they could leave
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