FROM HONG KONG BILL UNIT
04.19.1990 11:12
NO. 2 P.
P. 6
5.
Mr Speaker, the 50,000 would be a carefully chosen and highly
qualified group of people in good jobs, earning good salaries. If they decided to settle in the United Kingdom they would
doubtless make a valuable contribution here. But that is not the
purpose of the Bill. It is a Bill designed to persuade them to
remain in Hong Kong rather than go off elsewhere in the coming
years to acquire another nationality as a sort of insurance policy. They might well come here after 1997 if there were a
collapse of confidence in Hong Kong. But I have to say that, in
that event, many more people from Hong Kong would arrive here
seeking refuge.
Of course,
we would look to the international community for
assistance, [and there are plenty of indications now of the
willingness of other countries to implement scheme to complement
our own France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Singapore and
others] but, given our historical links with Hong Kong, who can
doubt that in a situation of real difficulty the United Kingdom
would be expected to take the leading role? The Government
believes that the Bill will greatly reduce the chance of such a
collapse before 1997, and will thus increase the prospects of a
successful transition when the time comes.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.