LETTERS Hong Kong rights
Sir: It is now five months since the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in China.
Since then, you have published some elo- quent and well-reasoned editorials urging the British Government to introduce full democracy in Hong Kong and to restore the right of abode in the United Kingdom to British passport-holders in the colony.
Sadly, this does not appear to have made much impact on the decision-making apparatus. Neither have the mass demon- strations in Hong Kong itself. This is perhaps not surprising. The people of Hong Kong have no electoral clout in the United Kingdom and the politicians of all parties may therefore ignore them with impunity.
Perhaps the Government (and Opposi- tion) would take rather more notice if large numbers of voters in Britain began to express their disquiet in some sustained fashion. With this thought in mind, a nationwide association is being established to support measures which will provide the people of Hong Kong with the confidence to live in freedom after 1997. Specifically, the association will have the following aims: 1) To persuade the British Government to restore the right of abode in the United Kingdom to all British Hong Kong citizens.
2) To persuade the British Government to encourage the world community to grant right of abode to non-British citizens of Hong Kong.
3) To urge the British Government to introduce a Bill of Rights and to democra- tise Hong Kong's government institutions, including establishing a fully elected par- liamentary assembly before 1997.
4) To urge the British Government to ensure that the Basic Law conforms to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
5) To foster improved relations between China, Hong Kong and Britain.
The association, which has already established branches in London, Oxford and Brighton, is to be known as the Hong Kong Freedom Association. It is urgently seeking the support of everyone who is concerned about this matter. Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of Hong Kong.
Richard Lewis
The Hong Kong Freedom Association, 8 Grange Road, Cambridge
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