Anthony Rogers Esq QC
Chairman
The Hong Kong Bar Association
LG3/Floor
The Supreme Court
38 Queensway
HONG KONG
I am sorry not to have replied earlier to your letter of
9 February. I know that the Prime Minister's Private Secretary wrote to you on 5 March indicating that your views would be taken into account when Ministers took final decisions on the scheme.
As you will know, the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill received its First Reading on 4 April; I attach a copy of the Bill, an explanatory note and a copy of the press release for your
information.
The Government is entirely persuaded of the importance of ensuring that lawyers are adequately protected under the scheme. That conviction is reflected in the proposal that the legal profession should have its own area withing the General Allocation Section. The Government did not believe it right to take into account indications of any group's intentions to emigrate. This would have been extremely difficult to quantify in any objective way. The proposed allocation within the draft scheme has therefore been based on emigration rates and seems likely to result in between 250 and 300 places. But you will appreciate that at this stage this can only be an illustrative figure; much depends upon the form of the scheme that Parliament eventually approves, and this all is of
course subject to successful passage of the Bill.
I appreciate that your members, in common with many other sectors in Hong Kong, would have preferred to see a higher proportion of places allocated to their profession. I know you will
DAVAAG
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Private notes are available after approval.