许多香港人并不希望搬到远离欧洲西北海岸的一个潮湿和寒冷的岛屿，那里的税收很高。

 中国政府反对这项计划，声称它违反了《联合声明》，无论英国怎么说，在香港的任何中国人后裔都是人民共和国的公民。

正如威尔逊所说，他们没有提出非常强烈的反对意见，该计划得以实施。

但这并不是一个光荣的结果，它失去了一个在英国和处于东亚经济复兴中心的数百万人之间建立永久联系的机会。

 

The Chinese government objected to the scheme, claiming that it breached the Joint Declaration and that, no matter what Britain might say, anyone of Chinese descent in Hong Kong was a citizen of the People’s Republic. As Wilson put it, they did not object very strongly and the plan went ahead. But it was not a glorious outcome, and it was a lost opportunity to create a permanent link between the United Kingdom and millions of people at the heart of the East Asian economic renaissance.

 

剥夺大多数香港人在英国定居的权利的政策将持续近30年。

当时，撒切尔夫人首先是作为一个国内政治家行事，被民众对大规模移民的恐惧所困扰。

但事实证明，总督在一个方面是正确的。

吸收的速度很慢，导致当地评论员得出结论：事实上，许多香港人并不希望搬到远离欧洲西北海岸的一个潮湿和寒冷的岛屿，那里的税收很高。

护照计划解决了眼前的危机。

据威尔逊回忆说："据我所知，实际搬迁的人数非常少。

在我看来，这是撒切尔夫人的巨大功劳，尽管她最初并不喜欢这个想法，但她是那个说 "我们必须这样做 "的人，并做到了。

 

The policy of denying most Hong Kong people the right to settle in Britain would remain in place for almost three decades. At the time, Mrs Thatcher had acted first and foremost as a domestic politician preoccupied by popular fears of mass immigration. But the governor was proved right in one regard. Take-up was slow, leading local commentators to conclude that many in Hong Kong did not, in fact, wish to move to a wet and cold island far away off the northwest coast of Europe, where taxes were high. The passport scheme solved the immediate crisis. As Wilson recalled: ‘As far as I know the number who actually moved was very small. To my mind it is an enormous credit to Margaret Thatcher that although she didn’t like the idea initially she was the person who said “we’ve got to do it” and did it.’