TNAG-2191-FCO40-3128-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 144

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6.

Group I undertakings are entirely different in nature from any

other recipient under the package:

Holders of such undertakings are already in receipt of entry

clearance;

They are people we want to leave Hong Kong, whereas passports should encourage them to stay there;

For reasons of their own vulnerability and in the interests of HMG's security (they have information which we do not want China to obtain) they must be got out of Hong Kong before 1997.

A further point which Mr McLaren has drawn to our attention is

that the reference to dual nationals being eligible to apply but subject to a 200 point penalty is a little obscure. HKG argued that a number of BDTCs have managed to obtain passports of convenience (eg Tonga, Mauritius, etc) and that they if they are key personnel they should not automatically be ineligible on the grounds that they hold a foreign passport. In practice a 200 point penalty will rule out all but exceptionally highly qualified candidates. We have already suggested to the Home Office that they may wish to make this point clearer in the final version of the paper.

7. Should Ministers wish to disagree with any of the Home Secretary's proposals, there are three ways in which this might be

done:

KIPACM (4)

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