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Hong Kong's Position
8.
Hong Kong cannot grant diplomatic privileges and immunities
And the because Hong Kong can only have consular-type relations. Commission cannot be granted privileges under Hong Kong's Consular Ordinance (CAP 259) as the Commission is not a sovereign state. Hong Kong therefore proposed that the office should be granted privileges under CAP 190, which deals with International. Organisations.
9.
More
The Commission have not accepted this. They claim that the EC is not an International Organisation (although they have recently indicated a willingness to fudge this point). importantly, the privileges and immunities available under CAP 190 are less that those of CAP 259. In order to grant the equivalent of all the CAP 259 privileges and immunities, Hong
They have refused to Kong would have to enact new legislation.
do so, on the grounds that it would take too much time and require consultation with the Chinese.
10. When the Governor visited Brussels in April, he indicated to M. Delors that Hong Kong would try to bridge the gap by Administrative measures. Their latest offer covers many of the points raised by the Commission (both at Annex A), including the inviolability of the pouch. But the Commission were not content. of the points outstanding, the most difficult is the question of personal inviolability of staff, family members and residences: the latter two are not even available under the Consular Ordinance and so, in Hong Kong's view, are non-negotiable.
Argument
11.
For over five years the UK has been pressing the Commission to set up the office. Some of their demands are unreasonable; they are seeking greater privileges/immunities than those available to Consulates in Hong Kong. They have insufficiently grasped that Hong Kong is unique, and that the Hong Kong Government are operating under real constraints.
ASIA-PACIFIC/1207.HKsub
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