CONFIDENTIAL
14112
BACKGROUND
4.
THE JOINT DECLARATION ON THE QUESTION OF HONG KONG WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY AN EXCHANGE OF MEMORANDA BETWEEN HER MAJESTY'S
GOVERNMENT AND THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SETTING OUT THEIR
RESPECTIVE POSITIONS AS TO THE STATUS OF BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORIES CITIZENS (BDTCS) IN HONG KONG AND RELATED ISSUES (CMND 9352). HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT IN THEIR MEMORANDUM STATE
THAT ALL THOSE WHO ON 30 JUNE 1997 ARE BDTCS BY VIRTUE OF A
CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG WILL CEASE TO HAVE THAT STATUS WITH
EFFECT FROM 1 JULY 1997, AND IT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ACQUIRE
BDT CITIZENSHIP BY VIRTUE OF A CNECTION WITH HONG KONG ON OR
AFTER 1 JULY 1997. BUT THOSE WHO WILL LOSE BDT CITIZENSHIP WILL
BE ELIGIBLE TO RETAIN AN APPROPRIATE STATUS (NOT TO BE ACQUIRED BY ANYONE BORN ON OR AFTER 1 JULY 1997) WHICH WILL ENABLE THEM TO
CONTINUE TO USE BRITISH PASSPORTS, PROVIDED THAT THEY HOLD OR ARE
INCLUDED IN SUCH A PASSPORT BEFORE 1 JULY 1997 (OR UP TO 31
DECEMBER 1997 IF BORN IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THAT YEAR).
ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE MADE FOR THE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT OF
THOSE PASSPORTS BY UNITED KINGDOM CONSULAR OFFICERS, AND FOR THE
HOLDERS OF SUCH PASSPORTS TO RECEIVE BRITISH CONSULAR PROTECTION
WHEN IN THIRD COUNTRIES. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IN THEIR
MEMORANDUM STATE THAT ALL HONG KONG CHINESE COMPATRIOTS, WHETHER
THEY ARE HOLDERS OF THE BDTC PASSPORT OR NOT, ARE CHINESE
NATIONALS. BUT TAKING ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
HONG KONG AND ITS REALITIES, THE COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF THE
CHINESE GOVERNMENT WILL, WITH EFFECT FROM 1 JULY 1997, PERMIT
CHINESE NATIONALS IN HONG KONG WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY BDTCS TO USE
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY THE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT FOR THE
PURPOSE OF TRAVELLING TO OTHER STATES AND REGIONS.
5.
IT FOLLOWS FROM THE TERMS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
MEMORANDUM, THAT THE STATUS THAT HONG KONG BDTCS WILL BE ELIGIBLE
TO RETAIN WILL NOT BE TRANSMISSIBLE TO ANY SUBSEQUENT GENERATION
AND THAT ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY BDTCS BY VIRTUE OF A
CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG ON 30 JUNE 1997 MAY RETAIN IT.
6.
THE HONG KONG ACT SETS OUT THE FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH THE
ORDER IN COUNCIL WILL FIT. THE ACT ALLOWS FOR PROVISION TO BE
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CONFIDENTIAL
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