TNAG-2941-FCO40-4217-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-ethnic-minorities-1993 — Page 57

constant interest in Hong Kong.

The Governor may raise it with the

Home Secretary when he sees him next Wednesday.

Summary

3.

There have been different formulations of the assurance over the

years, but it has always been given in the context of discussion of

the position of the ethnic minorities. Legco seem to be trying to

extend it to all BDTCS/BN (0)s and claim that at the meeting the

Home Secretary agreed with their interpretation.

Recommendation

4. To resist the pressure to extend the assurance and, subject to

the advice of the Governor, to write to Miss Lau to put the record

straight.

History

5. I attach extracts from Hansard recording the assurances that have been given over the years. Baroness Young, then Minister of

State in the Foreign Office, was the first to give the assurance on

14 March 1985 when taking part in the debate on the Hong Kong Act

1985. She made it clear that she was referring to the non-Chinese

BDTCS in Hong Kong and said

"In the unlikely event that any BN (0)s and BOCS came under

pressure to leave Hong Kong and had nowhere else to go, we

would expect that the Government of the day would consider

sympathetically whether to admit them, on a case by case

basis in the light of their circumstances."

A similar formulation was used by Mr Waddington and then Mr Hurd in

1986.