TNAG-2195-FCO40-3132-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 35

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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Yet, now, faced with a Bill intended to give reassurance to The

Queen's subjects in Hong Kong, to encourage them to keep that territory well governed and prosperous, what does he do? his remedy?

What is

He thinks that we are being too generous. He thinks his "figure will turn out to be less than the Government's" but he doesn't know and he hasn't calculated his procedure for holding that

figure down.

The Rt Hon gentleman, and his colleague the Rt Hon member for Gorton, hide behind the Select Committee Report. They've got a

nerve.

The Select Committee called for the Government to give

assurances "to a significant number of Hong Kong BDTCs in key positions" in the private sector (paragraph 4.19). That paragraph was agreed by the Committee with no Labour member dissenting. shameful that the Shadow Cabinet has utterly ignored that

recommendation.

It is

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The Select Committee also recommended (paragraph 4.21) that

generous assurances some thousands should be given to key people in the public services. It is true that the Committee envisaged

that such assurances would be given in the form of a right of entry

to the United Kingdom and under existing statute law. The Goverment

did indeed consider taking that route. We could not do so, because

the Rt Hon member for Gorton announced that a Labour administration

would not honour such assurances and would swiftly halt, by

administrative action or secondary legislation, any scheme already in place. The Rt Hon gentleman's torpedo destroyed any chance of a scheme relying on right of entry rather than full citizenship would carry any weight in Hong Kong.

/The

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