TNAG-2188-FCO40-3125-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 177

13

CONFIDENTIAL

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RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

10 APR 1990

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REGISTRY

Action Taken

Nationality Package

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The Secretary of State and the Home Secretary had a word on the telephone this morning. The Home Secretary said that he had met the officers of the Conservative Back Bench Committee yesterday and had been pressed on three points which were more for the FCO than for the Home Office:

(a) The Chinese reaction to the package. The Back Benchers

said that they believed that there had indeed been a breach of the Joint Declaration and its associated memoranda.

(b) They did not believe the FCO judgement that the scheme

would help remedy the confidence problem.

(c) They scoffed at the notion of a brain drain and wanted

to see figures on emigration/immigration from/into Hong Kong over the past few years.

The Home Secretary said that he would be seeing the full Home Affairs Committee on Monday 15 January. He would welcome full briefing on these points from the Foreign Office. He proposed to take the general line that, whatever the merits of the scheme, it would be disastrous for Hong Kong if this legislation failed. He also wanted to get away from the notion of the Bill as an immigration bill. It was not a question of "allowing people in" but rather preventing Hong Kong from sliding downhill, which could eventually land Britain with a much larger refugee problem.

The Secretary of State undertook to send the Home Secretary the briefing he requires. He agreed with the Home Secretary that Mr Lidington and his opposite number in the Home Office must stay in very close, ie daily, touch.

The Secretary of State raised the idea of a "Dear Colleague" letter on this subject. The Home Secretary thought that this should either issue from the Foreign Secretary or jointly from the two of them. The Secretary of State said that he would aim to send such a letter after his return from Hong Kong. He favours a joint letter.

The Secretary of State hopes that the Home Secretary has seen a copy of the article he did for the Telegraph. should receive all material of this nature.

He

CONFIDENTIAL

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