TNAG-2941-FCO40-4217-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-ethnic-minorities-1993 — Page 36

RESTRICTED

B

attached

have avoided spelling out any broader application. Miss Lau has

camped on this position and LegCo have been determinedly lobbying in Parliament. The Governor told us, during his recent visit, that he was concerned about any attempt on the part of

the Home Office to back away from what the Home Secretary had

told the Legco delegation. His concern is reflected in the

attached points to make which the Governor commissioned for his

call on the Home Secretary last Wednesday.

4.

Given the Home Secretary's indications to Miss Lau, the

Governor is quite clear that any attempt at this stage

to restrict application of the undertaking solely to the ethnic community will cause a big row in Hong Kong.

5. We understand that Home Office officials, in their concern

not to make commitments to allow entry to the entire population of Hong Kong, are urging their Ministers to stress that the

assurance has always been given in the context of the ethnic

minorities and that it has never, and does not now, extend to all British nationals in Hong Kong. Certainly the assurance was

devised for and intended to apply to members of the ethnic

minority. Over the years the Home Office has sought to amend

the wording to restrict its application. The Home Secretary, as

we see it, took the correct line on 9 June when he said that the

assurance would apply to ethnic Chinese if it came to the

crunch. The Home Office should be encouraged to stick with this

position. It is important that we feed in our views to Home Office Ministers before an unhelpful line to take is set in

concrete.

Blink

PF Ricketts

PS

¡ Hink we should cogn

this to the foressor

now

So ital

he too com intervene

RESTRICTED

with Mr Wardle il he wisher

et.min.NAT.JRB