British door to H.K. migrants will stay shut

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 6

British door to H.K. migrants will stay shut

NZPA-AP London Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Sir Geoffrey Howe, ruled out yesterday any changes in British nationality laws that would allow people from Hong Kong to emigrate there after China took over the colony.

Britain’s lease on most of the territory will expire in 1997.

“I do not believe that either this Parliament or a successor would favour changes which stimulated emigration from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom or elsewhere,” Sir Geoffrey said in a House of Commons debate on the colony.

While Sir Geoffrey emphasised that the administration of the colony should remain in the hands of Hong Kong’s 5.5 million people, his comments gave little comfort to a Hong Kong delegation in the Commons gallery. The delegation arrived in London on Wednesday to urge Britain to retain some

control over the territory. About one million of the colony’s residents hold Hong Kong British passports, but the documents do not entitle the holder to live in Britain. Sir Geoffrey said that Britain was seeking arrangements with China, “which would allow Hong Kong people to enter and leave the territory freely and, at the same time, provide a secure future for them there." He said that it was essential that the colony’s prosperity be maintained. It was the world’s third-largest financial centre. The Chinese Premier, Mr Zhao Ziyang, said on Tuesday that Hong Kong’s laws would remain basically unchanged, and British economic interests would get due regard when China resumed ownership in 1997. Sir Geoffrey said that the Government was not seeking “an agreement at any price” with China. He assured Parliament that the Government would not be

party to a deal which could be regarded as inadequate.

“We are not seeking an agreement for its own sake, nor an agreement at any price. It is important to ge't the right agreement,” he said. The five-hour debate was broadcast in full on radio in Hong Kong. Britain, which began talks with Peking in 1982, pub-

licly conceded last month that it would renounce sovereignty when its lease on most of the territory expired. But Sir Geoffrey said that although the two sides had made a good deal of progress the talks still had some way to go. He said that the success of any final agreement could hot be fully guaranteed but he ruled out participation of a third party as unrealistic. He said that Britain believed the best guarantee was that China's international reputation. to which it attached great importance, would be at stake. China also had an interest in a flourishing Hong Kong. Sir Geoffrey said that the people of Hong Kong would in due course have a full opportunity to make their views known on the text of a draft agreement. He appeared to rule out a referendum, saying that it would present draw-backs.