cluded, provided they can document their parents' marriage. Even amilies are split a British citizen who acquired right of abode by living in England would be able to transmit his citizenship, but not his right of abode, to his children born abroad - in one Hong Kong family, the father is a British citizen by residence in Britain, as is one child born while he was there, while his wife and other children (who are now adults) are BDTCs only.
Even those who can claim only BDTC status are divided. Many have another nationality by birth, residence or naturalisation abroad, like the professionals who regularly leave Hong Kong for this purpose. (The registration of Eric Ho, the only Hong Kong member of the Joint Liaison Group, ironically revealed that he was in fact a citizen of New Zealand already.) Many are married to foreign nationals British civil servants or people they met while students abroad. Many have capital and income which makes them welcome in any of the preferred countries of migration (Canada, Australia, the USA) and have already bought property there as a downpayment. Many families have at least one member living abroad, and might be able to enter another country as dependent relatives. The Hong Kong civil servants, who are so reluctant to split Hong Kong on the minorities issues, have already negotiated their own concession the possibility of registration as British citizens under section 4(5) of the British Nationality Act.
In Hong Kong, awareness of someone's nationality status or potential immigration prospects is like a sixth sense. It colours people's views of each other and the risks they are prepared to take in supporting the Agreement. Very often, people who voiced outspoken criticism or undiluted optimism were dismissed by others we spoke to on the grounds that 'He/she has a British husband/a Malaysian passport/a daughter in Canada'.
Thus, divisions already exist and are an accepted fact of life in Hong Kong. Right of abode in Britain for those with no other citizenship would merely add one small layer to those who already have secure status outside Hong Kong. Most of the Chinese people to whom we spoke recognised the unique insecurity of the minority groups. A leading churchman said "The others have a pride in being Chinese, so they will not be alienated after 1997... however the minorities have genuine problems... we have a moral obligation to do something about it'.45; another said that the Chinese would understand the position of people who were 'between two stools.'46
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