CONFIDENTIAL COVERING SECRET
DSR 11C
5. Hong Kong, accepting that CUKC would not be maintained,
also pressed hard for an alternative status to BDTC which
would emphasise the continuing link with Britain, e.g.
British (Hong Kong) Citizen. This was not accepted by HMG
on the grounds that there would not be sufficient
distinction from British Citizen and that there might be
confusion over rights of entry to the UK, although Hong Kong
fully accepted that there was no question of their
receiving that right. (It has been agreed, however, that
in describing 'National status' BDTC passports will show
the name of the relevant dependent territory immediately
below the words 'BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORIES CITIZEN'.)
[
6.
The amendment
In October last year Lord Geddes introduced an amendment
to the Nationality Bill on behalf of Hong Kong which, if
successful, would have conferred the status 'British national
on all BDTCS and British Overseas citizens.
was defeated by only 3 votes in the Lords. Since then the
question of the right of BDTCs in Hong Kong to be described
as British or United Kingdom nationals in passports has been
vigorously pursued by the Hong Kong Government and by
Executive and Legislative Councillors.
In July this year
their Attorney General submitted a paper claiming to justify
the legality of the inclusion of the
national' in the passports of BDTCs.
British or words 'United Kingdom
ds/'Un
The FCO had resisted
earlier efforts to achieve this on the legal grounds that the
status of United Kingdom or British nationals is of relevance
only in the sphere of international relations and that the
description in the passport must not deviate from the
wording in the Act.'
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