TNAG-2746-FCO40-3961-Visits-by-Chris-Patten--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--to-the-UK-1993 — Page 40

CONFIDENTIAL

THIS IS A COPY THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED UNDER

FOI EXEMPTION NO...27(

Airport

6.

June

Three meetings of the Airport Committee were held in

7.

There is still some way to go before the financing issue can be settled, but indications are that it may be resolved by the end of the year. Potentially more difficult are the land issues: the Chinese have rejected HKG's proposal of including all the land for the Airport Railway in one year's land disposal programme; and they are insisting that the Airport Authority should pay premium on land used for commercial purposes.

Nationality Issues

1. Ethnic Minorities

8.

Mr Goodlad wrote on 19 April to Mr Wardle to register LegCo's support for British citizenship for the ethnic minorities. Mr Wardle replied on 12 May with the standard Home Office line: that the position of the ethnic minorities was adequately protected; and there was no prospect of further legislation to make specific provision for them. This was the message which Mr Goodlad gave LegCo on 1 June, and which Home Office Ministers gave the visiting LegCo delegation on 9 June.

Since then, the case for the ethnic minorities to receive citizenship has been pressed on various occasions:

9.

An Adjournment Debate on 9 July;

During the passage through Parliament of the two Hong Kong nationality Orders in Council;

At Mr Goodlad's session with the Foreign Affairs Committee on 14 July (he undertook to take the matter up with the Home Office);

At the Secretary of State's lunch with the Hong Kong Association Committee on 13 July (the Secretary of State undertook to look again at this issue).

Mr Goodlad's postbag over the last month has also included nearly 30 letters from MPs about this issue.

2. EC/Schengen Visas

10. (Background in Mrs Barnes Jones's submission of 21 July)

bgrnd.cole.NAT

JEB

CONFIDENTIAL