TNAG-2714-FCO40-3920-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 24

14-JUL-1993

14:40

TRANSCRI PT

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Gallagher

MR ALASTAIR GOODLAD

0491 579838

P.21

SELECT COMMITTEE

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14 JULY 93

21

which has proved to be totally wrong; and the other was that the Hong Kong economy would wind down, which proved to be spectacularly wrong since the Hong Kong economy has prospered with that of the surrounding regions ever since, so I think we are well advised by you to avoid future predictions of such uncertainty.

I wonder if we could move to more specific issues, although there are many more major matters to be discussed but we have got time limits, specific issues first related to Hong Kong before we move on to broader Chinese affairs.

MR KANAVAN:

I wish to raise the question of non-Chinese British dependent territory citizens. I wrote to the Foreign Office about this

With

last month and I received a reply from the Minister a few weeks ago in which he referred to a government assurance to the effect that if members of that community came under pressure to leave Hong Kong after 1997 the UK would consider with particular sympathy any claim they made for admission to this country. respect, it is not sympathy that these people want, it is full nationality rights. Could you tell us what in your opinion would constitute sufficient pressure to leave and whether discrimination against people of non-Chinese ethnic origin would be sufficient to give sympathetic consideration to any application to come to the UK?

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