Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
23
14 May 1992
Mr Charles Wardle MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Home Office
Queen Anne's Gate T
London
SW1
HKD 340/6
RECEIVED IN RECICH
18 MAY 1992
London SWIA 2AH
From The Minister of State
Ми
Mr Woodrow
DESK OFFICER
INDE.
ISTRY
17
ра
18
Dew Chares.
BRITISH NATIONALITY ACT 1981: HONG KONG
263
Peter Lloyd wrote to Malcolm Caithness on 20 November about OMELCO's request to register a group of Hong Kong children as British citizens under Section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981.
Malcolm Caithness discussed the matter with OMELCO during his visit to Hong Kong last December and wrote back to Peter Lloyd on 28 January strongly supporting the request. I understand that Peter Lloyd also discussed this question with Dr Leong of OMELCO when he came to see him on 14 January and again briefly on 17 February, when Dr Leong provided details of the numbers and location of children likely to be involved. Peter Lloyd promised to consider the issue in the light of further advice from his officials, but I understand that he was unable to do so before the General Election.
I will shortly be visiting Hong Kong and I am sure that this issue will be raised forcefully with me, as it was on each occasion Malcolm Caithness visited the territory over the last year.
We still believe that there are strong reasons, as set out in Malcolm Caithness's letter of 28 January, for
4) agreeing to OMELCO's request to register these children as British citizens. Dr Leong estimated that approximately 200 children were involved and that about a quarter of them were already in the UK.
I believe that a negative response on this small but emotive issue for Hong Kong would do disproportionate harm, particularly on the eve of Chris Patten's arrival. The last thing he will need as he seeks to establish a good working relationship with OMELCO is this kind of problem, with HMG,
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