TNAG-2941-FCO40-4217-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-ethnic-minorities-1993 — Page 96

14-JUN-1993 09:29

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Mrs Barnes-Jone: Mr. Hayward NTCJ

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1416.

MEETING WITH HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCILLORS

You were present yesterday when the Home Secretary and Mr Wardle met Emily Lau, Ronald Arculli, Simon Ip, James Toh, Howard Young and Ross Clarke of LegCo. Mr Rawsthorne, Mr Kelly and Mr Thomas were also present.

2. Ms Lau thanked the Home Secretary for meeting the delegation and said that they had 3 main areas of concern they wished to raise. The first was the matter of British nationality for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong; secondly the proposed cut-off dates for the acquisition of British National (Overseas) status, and thirdly the question of British nationality for wives and widows of ex-servicemen.

Ethnic Minorities

3.

of a

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this will probably take the form letter Flo will be consued.

from Home See - Mustu. The Home Secretary said that consideration to this question. The Government had given a clear he had given careful commitment to the effect that if certain people in Hong Kong came under pressure to leave after 1997 the United Kingdom would consider with sympathy any claim they made for admission to this country. However, to go further and grant citizenship to the ethnic minorities would require amendments to legislation and was out of the question. However, the Home Secretary offered to re-l state the undertaking which had been given.

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to re-state the

MS Lau said she welcomed the offer undertaking. She said that the Hong Kong people had been led to believe from previous statements that the commitment applied to all who held a British passport and the deputation had been shocked to learn from Mr Goodlad at a meeting that morning that it only applied to only solely British nationals. She asked what would happen to a British passport holder who also held another countries nationality. The Home Secretary indicated that the undertaking had always been clear and unreasonable to expect those British passport holders in Hong that it was not Kong who were also nationals of a 3rd country to seek to go to

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