Hong Kong and British Citizenship (Hansard, 6 May 1986)

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, the Government received and considered very carefully representations from the council that British citizenship should be granted to those British Dependent Territories citizens who are not ethnically Chinese and who would otherwise be stateless in 1997. But as my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced on 23rd April, we have concluded that it would not be right to grant this request. The arrangements we have made guarantee people's continued right to live in Hong Kong and will ensure that neither they, their children nor their grandchildren need fear statelessness.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, is the noble Lord the Minister aware that when they conducted their negotiations with the Chinese Government this Government quite rightly deserved the fulsome praise of both Houses of Parliament for the manner in which they did so? Is he further aware that due to their myopia in negotiating with regard to the Chinese minorities the Government stand the possibility of being ridiculed because of their unbelievable attitude to the minorities? They have granted two of the requests and they have been wholly acceptable to the Hong Kong people as a whole. The new passports requiring no visas are fine; the former servicemen who will require and will obtain British citizenship—all 585 these things are admirable. Why, then, have the Government turned their face against the ethnic minorities who, despite what the Minister has said here, despite what Mr. Douglas Hurd has said, know full well that come 1997 with the new BN(O) passport they will be stateless, notwithstanding the massive service they have given to Hong Kong and to Great Britain?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, British citizenship does not properly reflect the position of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, nor can it secure their position there. Their future in Hong Kong can be secured, as I think the noble Lord was indicating, only by the agreement with the Chinese Government and this guarantees them the right to live in Hong Kong. All British Dependent Territories citizens connected with Hong Kong will up to July 1997 have the right to be British Nationals (Overseas), but any who do not do so, or whose children or grandchildren later risk statelessness, can become British overseas citizens. This properly reflects their position in Hong Kong. It would be wrong to treat them differently from the many thousands of other British overseas citizens throughout the world, and that is not necessary in order to give them what they say they want. The two things they say they want are an accepted nationality status and a home in Hong Kong, both of which they have.

§ Baroness Phillips
My Lords, bearing in mind that so many of these Indians went to live in Hong Kong at the direct invitation of former British governments, surely it ill behoves us to leave them in this situation when we come to the time when there are apparently still very elastic guarantees which we made with the Red Chinese. Will not the Government reconsider the situation of this quite small number of citizens?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, as I have indicated, we have considered them with great care. We have recognised and fully met our responsibilities to the people of Hong Kong, including those British Dependent Territories citizens who are not ethnically Chinese. The noble Baroness will be aware that we shall be debating this matter in about a week's time.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, if the Minister is so confident about the agreement with the Chinese and so confident that these people will be treated properly when Hong Kong passes to the Chinese Government, why will he not give those people who went there because it was British, who have done extremely well and who are rich and able a fall-back position of a British passport?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, of course we appreciate the concerns of the minority communities who are not ethnically Chinese. There is no question of any British Dependent Territories citizen becoming stateless as a result of the agreement. The draft order makes provisions to prevent this, not only for those who were British Dependent Territories citizens before 1st June 1997, but also for their children and their grandchildren born on or after that date. That is fully 586 in accordance with our international obligations to relieve statelessness.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, will the Minister then say where these British overseas citizens will be welcome? In which countries will they be welcome to live if an unsatisfactory situation develops?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I believe that that is a matter which would be looked at internationally. However, I do not think that it does any good to assume that an agreement that has been reached between those concerned over the future of Hong Kong is likely to go wrong in the way the noble Lord suggests that it might.

§ Lord Mishcon
My Lords, will the noble Lord the Minister and the House forgive me for putting this question, having entered the Chamber a little late? Will the noble Lord the Minister, as he has recognised already, note that there is to be a debate on this very serious matter on Friday week? Will he therefore take it that the fact I am not disputing some of the statements he has made does not mean that we shall not be having a very full debate on that occasion?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I realise that we probably shall have a very full debate on that occasion. It may be best to discuss it more fully then.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, the noble Lord the Minister says that there has to be international discussion. Will he now tell the House with what other nations this Government will be discussing the position of the 10,000 Hong Kong Indians who went there at the behest of our Government? They are simply asking to be treated like all the other folk in Hong Kong—they support the Government 100 per cent.—so that they do not become stateless in 1997. Businessmen will not wish to take away the assets they have accrued.
Furthermore, will the Minister not agree that they will be compelled to take their case to the European Commission of Human Rights and will probably win? If the Government do not consider this question again, they will undo all the wonderful good work they did when they first negotiated with the Chinese Government. The British people will not worry because they are prepared to stand by these 10,000 Indian people who are recognisably part and parcel of Hong Kong which this Government intends to let down.

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I realise that the noble Lord feels passionately about this. However, we are to debate the matter in due course and perhaps it would be more appropriate then to give the noble Lord a fuller answer.