11
fth Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments, &c.
[Mr. Allen]
HOUSE OF COMMONS
criteria that will be employed in reconsidering those cases are a fundamental aspect of that problem. What will be the criteria for reconsidering individual cases? It would be helpful if the Minister could clarify the issue of reconsidering cases and the criteria that will be applied.
It has been suggested that the director of immi- gration will exercise his discretion to accept late appli- cations under special circumstances and I understand that other proposals are being discussed by the Gover- nor of Hong Kong and the Legislative Council. How- ever, none of that justifies what Mrs. Elsie Tu calls the "premature deprivation" of the rights of British Dependent Territory Citizens to register for BN(O) status any time before 1 July 1997.
The order seems ill-suited to the needs of Hong Kong people who seek guidance, help and a sense of security from the Governor and the British Govern- ment. What they do not need is a further directive that does little to reassure them about their rights and their position in an already confusing bureaucratic maze. The Minister alluded to the algebraic equations in the order which I do not pretend to understand.
The directive simply adds to public concern by imposing a guillotine on essential decisions by the peo- ple of Hong Kong. Those who do not apply before July 1997 should not be denied their right to BN(O) status because they did not apply within the time limit that the 'Government have imposed without consulting them.
There are ways of introducing administrative changes that would create a system to help the Hong Kong authorities without imposing strict rules and giv- ing ambiguous, vague assurances. Members of the Legislative Council have asked that the Governor and the United Kingdom Government approach them for help and consultation. We have attempted in our own, minor way this morning to ensure that their voice is heard through the British parliamentary process rather than through delegations and faxes, in the belief that it would be useful to have something on public record. I realise that that is not possible in the context of a statutory instrument Committee. We support the option and ask the Government to consider it rather than plough straight through with an Order in Council. The Government must try to help the people of Hong Kong through the Committee by co-operation rather than threats.
The British Nationality (Hong Kong) (Selection Scheme) (Amendment) Order 1993 provides, as the Minister said, for the second tranche of applications made under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 for registration of people as British citizens. The Act provides for up to 50,000 BDTCs and their spouses and minor children to register as British citizens, there- fore to gain the right of abode in the United Kingdom.
The detailed points scheme was set up to decide on applications. There have been many fewer applications so far than were expected. It is possible that the full 50,000 quota may not be reached under the initial
Hong Kong (Brit. Nat.) Order 1993 Brit. Nat. (Hong Kong) Order 1993
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scheme. Perhaps the Minister wishes to comment on that. Does he want the full quota to be reached so that he can reject people who might be entitled to British citizenship on merit, under the points scheme, or does he think it useful to leave some slack in the System? It would be helpful to be told. I am mindful of the Minis- ter's own remarks about the number of Bosnian refu- gees who should be allowed here, and of the failure of both the Government and the Bosnian authorities to identify the minimal number we agreed to take-I believe it was 1,000 plus relatives-which we still have not reached eight months after the Minister's first statement. I hope that our planning is set for us to reach the 50,000 by the given date. Otherwise, can the Minis- ter explain the Government's thinking about the issu- ing of the full 50,000 passports?
The order makes complicated amendments to the criteria for deciding about registration and adds points to certain categories, thus making it more likely that the quota will be filled. It does not provide for those people who will have no nationality in Hong Kong to be covered by the scheme, if they so wish.
I am grateful to the Minister for providing up-to-date figures. The latest I had were for 19 June this year, at which time 66,734 applications had been received from principal applicants for the 50,000 passports.
Mr. Wardle: For the first tranche.
Mr. Allen: Yes. There were 30,762 principal ben- eficiaries registered as British citizens, with 51,127 dependants. The Minister's figures were correct at 1 July. I believe that he said that 31,568 had been regis- tered. That is a slightly more up-to-date figure.
It is important to those who advocate incorporating the non-Chinese ethnic minorities that the figures are made clear. This will enable us to see what leeway exists, even within the current quota, to ensure some security for those people. The Government may object on the ground that that would distort the economic and social purpose of the 50,000 schedule, but we shall come to that soon.
We are concerned that the Government have done nothing in the order to take account of the worries of the non-Chinese ethnic minorities who are BDTCs of Hong Kong, nor anything during the process of hand- ing the colony back to China. As a result, I have had many representations from organisations in Hong Kong asking whether the Government could be per- suaded to offer greater assurance to the non-Chinese ethnic minority population there. Many of the Chinese population will be offered Chinese passports, and will have a right to them, but a small group has lived in Hong Kong for many years and is not of Chinese ori- gin. Some are Asian, some Eurasian and some White Russians. They could be stateless if they were left without British citizenship, which would allow them right of abode.
The history of the non-Chinese ethnic minorities in Hong Kong goes back to 1981 when the British flag was
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