2
3. Returning to our (three categories,
(a) means that, if HK were excluded, only vessels registered in the UK would stand to benefit from the Agreement. In
theory,
HK owners (and UK owners of vessels registered in HK) who wished to send their vessels to Chinese ports could get round this by registering their vessels in the UK;
toe
(b) means that, if HK were excluded, vessels chartered to
Hong Kong shipping enterprises would be deprived of the more limited benefits (entitlement to sail between the ports of the two parties open to foreign trade, to engage in passenger and cargo services between such ports and between such a port of either party and a port of a third country, and protection from flag discrimination measures) accorded to chartered vessels;
(c) means that, if HK were excluded, seamen with UK identity documents on board HK-registered vessels and seamen with
registered HK documents on board HK- or UK/vessels would be deprived
of the general protection afforded by the Agreement. In theory the latter problem could be circumvented by giving HK seamen UK identity documents, if this were possible, although the Chinese have said in the past that they will not accept that we should give consular.protection (Article 8) to those they consider their nationals, whatever ident- ity documents they possess.
w
(d) means that, if HK were excluded, HK shipping enterprises would have to pay taxes to China in respect of (its)mari-
time business with China and would not be able to claim the right to remit the revenue from this business in any currency freely convertible and remittable at the exchange rate valid at the time when remittance is made. In addit-
ion, certificates issued or renewed in Hong Kong would not be recognised in China whether in respect of HK -
or UK
registered vessels.
4. The HK issue arose directly in the Chinese proposals concerning the Title and Preamble and Article 7. The Chinese proposed that,
under the Title and Preamble as with most of her other maritime
agreements with OECD countries, the Agreement should be between the
Governments of the UK and China. Our text was drafted as it stands
so as to avoid any possible inference that HK was not covered by
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