PETAAD
PS/Mr Maude
I submit a draft reply
نملك
Kenneth R Warren Esq MP
House of Commons
London SWIA OAA
J Morris
27 March 1990
Thank you for your letter of 19 March asking about the position of Hong Kong Indians.
We have taken careful note of all the representations on this issue. In reaching the decision which was announced to the House on 20 December, we took fully into account the various arguments put to us on behalf of the non-ethnic Chinese minorities. We concluded that we could not treat this group as a special category within the scheme: the non-ethnic Chinese minorities will be eligible to apply for British citizenship under the scheme and each application will be treated on its merits.
As you know, in recognition of the particular concern of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, the Government have already taken steps to reassure them about their position after 1997. We have made provision for the children and grandchildren of former BDTCs born after 1997 to acquire British Overseas Citizenship if they would otherwise be stateless. And we have also given a specific assurance in Parliament that if, against all expectations, the ethnic minorities came under pressure to leave Hong Kong in the future, we would expect the Government of the day to consider their case for admission here with
considerable and particular sympathy. We stand by that undertaking.
We are aware that concern has also been expressed about the absence of clear provisions on how non-Chinese people can prove that they have taken Hong Kong as their place of permanent residence. The Joint Declaration makes explicit provision for non-Chinese people to have right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and this is fully reflected in Article 24(4) of the draft Basic Law. The Hong Kong Immigration Ordinance of 1987
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