TNAG-2198-FCO40-3152-Hong-Kong-nationality-spouses-and-widows-of-British-expatria-1990 — Page 232

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accompany the statement, but the matter was not raised in

Parlment.

4.

Home Office officials proposed that the Home Secretary should

announce the concession to Parliament by means of an inspired PQ on

12 January in time for the Secretary of State's visit. We have

learned that, although Mr Lloyd approved the proposal, Mr Waddington

refused, stating that he wished to refrain from making a statement

on the matter until the second reading of the Bill to implement the

package. We understand that he is concerned to avoid drawing

attention to the measure by announcing it in isolation. Apparently,

he would have been content for it to emerge in supplementary

questioning on 20 December but, failing that, prefers for it to be

"submerged" in the second reading.

5. Both the Home Office and the FCO have meanwhile been sitting on

a stack of letters from Conservatives Abroad (Hong Kong) and from

The Concerned Expatriates Association, with-holding replies pending

the announcement to Parliament. The two lobby groups have been

extremely active in recent months and the department has over 20

Letters from MPs on the topic. In addition, draft replies from

Ministers to the Chairmen of the two groups are outstanding.

groups have received holding replies indicating that "an

announcement will be made soon" and their expectation was that it

would be made in parallel with the 20 December statement. It is

almost certain (during his visit to Hong Kong) that the Secretary of

State will be asked to state the Government's position.

The

They will

not be satisfied with a further holding reply, and I believe it is

essential that we come clean. Although expatriates will be

disappointed that their spouses will not automatically be given

citizenship, expatriates elsewhere in the world share the same

rights under the immigration rules, and we can the concession to widows takes full account of the special

circumstances relating to Hong Kong.

justifiably argue that

As the draft makes clear, this would also be a good time to take account of the concerns of the

of widows of Hong Kong

ex-servicemeral.

ting loody

A R Paul

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