TNAG-2191-FCO40-3128-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 134

C

From A J Langdon

273 2516

1 March 1990

CONFIDENTIAL

HKD 340/4

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

1 1MAY 1990

DESK OFFICER INDEX

PA

REGISTRY Action Taken

c.c. Mr Yates

Mr Hammond

Mr Morris

Mr Platt

Mr Mower

Mrs Grimsey

Mr Seymour Miss Davies Miss Dews Mr Harrington

Mr Page

Mr Stadlen

Mr Green

Mr Godfrey Mr Morris, FCO

Mr Walters

130

HONG KONG : OD (K) MEETING 6 MARCH

I have two comments on the excellent draft OD (K) paper that Mrs Grimsey submitted yesterday.

Occupational Groups

2. Although it is true, as Mrs Grimsey says, that there may be sub-groups with relatively high emigration rates below the proposed cut-off line, and others with low rates above it, I think that making allowance for such anomalies would make the scheme impossibly complex. I therefore recommend that paragraph 18 of the OD (K) paper should be replaced by a new paragraph, as follows:

"18. The conclusion to which I am drawn is that we should deal with this in a broad way by simply excluding the last seven categories in Annex C2 and settling for the scheme displayed in Annex C3".

Key Entrepreneurs

3. Although it is probably the age factor that would particularly disadvantage the key entrepreneurs under the points scheme, I think it would be a clumsy device to take power to disapply that factor and leave the entrepreneurs to compete for places on the remaining points factors. (On a point of detail, I don't think the Governor could simply disapply the age factor: he would have to specify the age that the entrepreneur should be deemed to be for the purposes of the scheme, which might itself appear a bit odd.) This would, I

CONFIDENTIAL