WOULD CEASE TO BE A BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORY AS FROM 1 JULY
1997. IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS BASIC PREMISE THAT THE NEGOTIATORS
NEEDED TO PROVIDE THAT, AS FROM 1 JULY 1997 -
(1) ANYONE WHO WAS A BDTC BY VIRTUE OF A CONNECTION WITH
HONG KONG SHOULD NO LONGER BE A BDTC: AND
(11) NO ONE SHOULD ACQUIRE BRITISH NATIONALITY BY VIRTUE OF A
CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG.
1
IN BOTH CASES, THE NEGOTIATORS COULD NOT HAVE INTENDED THE PHRASE
'BY VIRTUE OF A CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG TO MEAN OTHERWISE THAN
'BY VIRTUE (NEXT WORD UNDERLINED) SOLELY OF A CONNECTION WITH
HONG KONG'. IT WOULD CONSISTENT WITH THE NEGOIATORS' INTENTION TO ADOPT THE APPROACH SUGGESTED IN PARA. 3 OF YOUR SECOND TUR. THE TEST, IN OUR VIEW, SHOULD BE WOULD A BDTC STILL HAVE BEEN
A BDTC IRRESPECTIVE OF A LINK WITH HONG KONG AS A DEPENDENT
TERRITORY?
(C) PROPOSED FORMULATION FOR DEFINING BDTCS WHO SHOULD BE EXCEPTED FROM LOSS. A MAJOR DISADVANTAGE OF ARTICLE 3 OF HILL'S DRAFT
IS THAT, ALTHOUGH IT CLEARLY EXCLUDES 'SEPARATE' BDTCS, IT DOES NOT, FOR EXAMPLE, EXCLUDE FROM LOSS THE CHILD BORN IN HONG KONG
TO GIBRALTESE PARENTS MENTIONED IN PARA. 1(A) ABOVE. NOR WILL IT
AVOID THE ANOMALY IDENTIFIED IN PARA. 3(B) OF MISS VEALE'S MINUTE OF 11 FEBRUARY. WE THEREFORE SUGGEST THAT A PERSON SHOULD BE REGARDED AS HAVING AN APPROPRIATE QUALIFYING CONNECTION WITH A
BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORY OTHER THAN HONG KONG AND SHOULD BE EXCEPTED FROM LOSS IF
-
(1) HE WAS BORN THERE AND AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH EITHER OF HIS PARENTS WAS SETTLED THERE: OR
(11) HIS PARENT OR HIS GRANDPARENT WAS BORN THERE: OR
(111) HE, HIS PARENT OR HIS GRANDPARENT IS OR WAS A PERSON NATURALISED OR REGISTERED THERE.
(D) DATE OF CREATION OF THE BN (0) STATUS. OUR COMMENTS IN PARA. 1(A)
OF OUR TELNO 603 ARE RELEVANT.
2. OUR COMMENTS ON HILL'S DRAFT ORDER IN COUNCIL ATTACHED TO HIS MINUTE OF 22 FEBRUARY (AGAIN AT OFFICIAL LEVEL ONLY) ARE
-
*
(A) ARTICLE 1
WE AGREE THE PHRASE 'EXCEPT FOR ARTICLE 5 WHICH WILL COME INTO OPERATION ON 1 JULY 1997' IN EMERY'S DRAFT SHOULD BE DELETED:
(B) ARTICLE 2
-
WE AGREE WITH MR. HILL THAT IT IS PREFERABLE TO
HAVE A CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG' DEFINED AT THE START OF THE ORDER IN COUNCIL RATHER THAN IN A SCHEDULE:
CONFIDENTIAL (2)
/ (c)