TNAG-2951-FCO40-4228-Hong-Kong-visa-free-travel-for-British-Nationals-(Overseas)--1993 — Page 108

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This news therefore comes as a serious

blow. I gather your capital is being urged by the

British Government to reconsider or hold back from

including Hong Kong in any new aggregated European

list, on the basis that these are British passport

holders, who should constitute an exception. I hope

you can assist in this reconsideration on the basis

of your local knowledge of, for example

(a)

our own liberal and yet efficient

immigration regime, which, through a

compulsory ID card system and through

border checks, successfully prevents us

being used as a jumping-board for

illegal immigration into Europe;

(b)

the excellent bona fides of our

business and tourist travellers;

(c)

the clear right of abode provisions in

our law both now and, through the Joint

Declaration and Basic Law, after 1997,

which guarantee continued returnability;

(d) the need to maintain confidence in Hong

Kong's future more generally by not

taking unnecessary steps which may

therefore be misinterpreted as lack of

such confidence by significant

developed countries such as yours.