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5. THERE ARE ABOUT 10,000 NON-CHINESE BDTCS IN HONG KONG INCLUDING
ROUGHLY 6,000 INDIANS, AND UNKNOWN NUMBERS OF BANGLADESHI AND PORTUGUESE. THERE ARE ALSO ABOUT 200 PARSEES. THESE PEOPLE,
TOGETHER WITH A SMALL NUMBER (ABOUT 100) OF FORMER MEMBERS OF
THE HONG KONG VOLUNTEER DEFENCE CORPS - NOW ROYAL HONG KONG
REGIMENT (THE VOLUNTEERS) - WHO FOUGHT IN DEFENCE OF HONG KONG IN
1941 AND BECAME PRISONERS OF WAR OF THE JAPANESE FROM DECEMBER
1941 TO SEPTEMBER 1945, ARE CONCERNED THAT THEY WIL BE
RENDERED STATELESS AFTER 30 JUNE 1997.
6. TO ALLEVIATE CONCERNS WITH STATLESSNESS EXPRESSED BY THE ETHNIC
MINORITIES IN HONG KONG (PARTICULARLY THE INDIANS), HMG GAVE, DURING DEBATE ON HONG KONG BILL IN HOUSE OF LORDS IN MARCH THIS
YEAR, AN UNDERTAKING THAT THE GRANDCHILDREN OF FORMER HONG KONG
BDTCS WOULD BE ENTITLED TO REGISTER AS BOCS WITHIN TWELVE MONTHS
OF THEIR BIRTH IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS. AT THE SAME
TIME IT WAS MADE CLEAR THAT BRITISH NATIONALITY COULD NOT BE
GRANTED INDEFINITELY AND WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS TO DESCENDANTS
OF BRITISH NATIONALS RESIDENT IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
MAIN ISSUES
7. THREE GROUPS HAVE SO FAR MADE REPRESENTATIONS TO HMG AND THE
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT PRESSING ADDITIONALLY FOR RIGHT OF ABODE IN
THE UK FOR THEIR MEMBERS AND CHILDREN. THEY ARE THE HONG KONG
COUNCIL OF INDIAN ASSOCIATIONS, THE HONG KONG PRISONERS OF WAR ASSOCIATION AND THE ZOROASTRIAN CHARITY FUNDS OF HONG KONG, CANTON AND MACAU. THEY AGREE THAT THEY ARE LIKELY TO BECOME STATELESS :
THAT THEY HAVE A LONG AND CLOSE ASSOCIATION WITH HONG KONG AND
THE BRITISH EMPIRE : AND THAT THEY MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO
DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION AFTER 1997.
YOUDE
LIMITED
HKD
FED
PS /MR RENTON SIR W. HARDING DR WILSON
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