THE article by Margaret Ng (South China Morning Post, June 15) in which she castigates the British Government for failing in their obligations to the people of Hongkong should be read in conjunction with a later piece describing the extent of oversubscription by professions such as lawyers and accountants to the British Nationality Scheme (Post, June 16), a further indication of the serious concern felt by the community at the approach of 1997.
If skilled and well-educated people have this perception of their future in Hongkong, together with the 66,000 odd who opted for emigration last year, what protection, if any, is going to be given to those who do not have the good fortune to exercise these choices? The argument made is that extending opportunities for British Nationality is ''politically impossible'' in the UK, but what evidence is there for this, given the hospitable attitude of the British to refugees from almost every country in the world and the long history of settlement by Hongkong people in the UK? Yes, there have been examples of racism in Britain but not, as far as I am aware, to Chinese people. One reason for this is that the Hongkong Chinese in particular have a reputation for hard work and the responsible discharge of their family obligations.
They aspire much for their children and make many sacrifices for them. These attitudes are not lost on the British people nor is the excellent example set by the Chinese of creating wealth from very little capital.
With the approach of 1997 and a less than rosy situation emerging from current Sino-British negotiations, I find it increasingly hard to explain to my Chinese friends and colleagues why Britain does not at least take the line of enlarging the present nationality scheme to include all those who wish to apply.
This is somewhat different from including the whole population and is a significant difference as far as Hongkong is concerned, since many seem to prefer to migrate elsewhere in any case.
DR A. R. KING Yau Yat Chuen
