Mr Paterson, NTD
(CL 501)
CONFIDENTIAL
Reference
Ник 34011
HICK
33
· No. 51
12 MAR 1981
CSX OFFICER INDEX
PA
RECISTRY
Action Take
PA
(!!5)
WP
(1980
TA
NATIONALITY BILL: CBDT BY BIRTH
1.
(14)
Pay 12/3
I refer to your undated minuted to me concerning the points Mr Lyons MP raised during the Committee Debate on Amendment 115.
2.
This is of course by no means the first time this issue has been raised. The Hong Kong Government did so as long ago as 20 October - see paragraph 4 of Hong Kong telegram No 1372 (which
tar 340/1 (JA) point, incidentally, does not seem to have been answered) in
1980
D
response for your letter of 3 October. Sir S Y Chung and Mr Cheung also raised it with Lord Carrington when they met on 2 February
(34A)
3. The answers you envisage Mr Lyons being given boil down to the same thing: the child will have Chinese nationality. This is quite unacceptable and, if made known in Hong Kong even to Unofficials, would produce an uproar which would make their present reaction to the Bill seem quite tame. This would, of course, make resolution of the existing Hong Kong objections very much more difficult.
4. In the circumstances, we must consider very urgently an amend- ment to the Bill which would give CBDT to a child born in Hong Kong of persons who have emigrated from China and who still have limit- ations on their stay in Hong Kong.
5. You also suggest that the Hong Kong Immigration Laws should be changed to reduce the qualifying period for settlement.
As you anticipate, this is in our view a non-starter in present circumstances.
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CODE 18-77
SS 8/78
4 March 1981
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Jo.3.
1. It would not be possible in legislation to differentiate between a child born in Hong Kong to alien parents who acquires Chinese citizenship by descent and a child who acquires another alien citizenship by descent. Consequently an amendment such as you have in mind would need to cover all such children born in all dependencies. This would be very difficult because the Standing
Committee have rejected corresponding amendments in respect of British citizenship.
CONFIDENTIAL
/2.
Can you