HC Deb 14 July 1993 vol 228 cc967-8
3. Mr. Sims

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Governor of Hong Kong to discuss the future of Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hurd

On Friday 9 July. I reported to him on my visit to Peking on 8 and 9 July. In Peking I had useful wide-ranging talks with Chinese leaders. On the electoral issue, I was able to focus their attention on the essential points and to make plain the need for more rapid progress. I emphasised the need for fair and open elections acceptable to the people of Hong Kong and for the negotiations to concentrate on three things: the functional constituencies, the election committee and the through train—that is to say, the need for clear, objective criteria for candidates standing in the 1995 elections to remain members of the legislature for a full four-year term. Chinese leaders also agreed to speed up work on the airport and in the joint liaison group.

Mr. Sims

I thank my right hon. Friend for that detailed reply. He mentioned the joint liaison group which, clearly, has a key role to play between now and 1997, but it has been making particularly slow progress. What success does he think that he had in discussing with officials in Beijing and with the Governor ways in which the work of that group could be expedited? Will he take this opportunity of explaining to the House the implication of the establishment with the Chinese of the preliminary working committee?

Mr. Hurd

On the first point, yes, we made some progress inasmuch as the dates for future meetings have been fixed for September and later this year in Peking and London. I emphasized—this was not contradicted—the need to get on with much of the agenda, for example the air services agreement, defence lands and the technical changing of legislation. I hope that there is progress there, although the next few months will show whether that hope is real.

I raised the matter of the preparatory working group with the Chinese Foreign Minister who is to be chairman of the group and received an assurance that it was not aimed at interfering in or complicating the work of the joint liaison group or, indeed, the administration of Hong Kong by Britain up to June 1997.

Mr. Rogers

When I met Governor Patten on his visit here on 1 July I was pleased to hear that the process of getting democratic structures into place by 1997 was advancing and that the through train has been pursued assiduously. When will the Secretary of State make a decision on the future of the non-Chinese ethnic minorities in Hong Kong? There are 7,000 such people, mainly of Indian origin, who were removed to Hong Kong as many as 100 years ago and who are likely to become stateless under the citizenship propositions. Surely they deserve much better treatment from this Government than what has been proposed.

Mr. Hurd

This is a long-standing argument and I know the strength of the case. It was dealt with a few days ago on 9 July by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. He repeated the assurance that the group already has: that if, against all expectations, they come under pressure to leave Hong Kong and have nowhere else to go, the Government of the day would consider with considerable and particular sympathy their case for admission to this country.