HUK 040/4
M. Coquet.fi.
PA
or 04014
Statement by the Attorney General
146 912131
in Legislative Council on Wednesday 23 January 1985
ヲ
With your permission, Sir, I wish to report to
the Council that the Hong Kong Bill, which was introduced
into the British Parliament on 10 January, passed its
second reading in the House of Commons on 21 January.
2.
In opening the second reading debate on the Bill,
Sir Geoffrey Howe referred to the United Kingdom Memorandum
associated with the Sino-British Joint Declaration which
provided for British Dependent Territories Citizens of
Hong Kong to retain an appropriate status which will entitle
them to continue to use passports issued by the Government
of the United Kingdom. Sir Geoffrey said, and I quote:
"Following consultations with the Hong
Kong Executive Council, it is intended that
the title of the new form of Nationality
should be 'British National (Overseas)'.
It has not been easy to devise a title
which meets all the necessary requirements.
On the one hand it needs to make clear
·
that we are dealing with a form of British
Nationality. Nothing less than that
would be acceptable in Hong Kong. On the
other hand it is essential that the title
we choose can continue to be used after
1997. For this to be possible, the title
must clearly carry no implication of a
/ continuing