FACILITY FOR HONG KONG SDTCS WISHING TO VISIT THE UK: THAT IT WAS
DESIGNED TO ASSIST THOSE WHO DID NOT SPEAK VERY FLUENT ENGLISH:
AND THAT BN (0)S WOULD ENJOY THE SAME ACCESS TO THE UK AS BDTCS.
STATELESSNESS
7. QUESTIONS WERE ASKED AS TO WHETHER THE ETHNIC MINORITIES WOULD BECOME STATELESS AFTER 1997. THE PROVISIONS FOR FORMER BDTCS. AND THEIR CHILDREN BORN AFTER 1997, TO BECOME BOCS AFTER 1997 IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS, AND FOR THEIR GRANDCHILDREN BORN AFTER 1997 TO HAVE AN ENTITLMENT TO REGISTER AS BOCS WERE
EXPLAINED.
GRANT OF BRITISH CITIZENSHIP TO UMELCO MEMBERS
6. IN REPONSE TO THE QUESTION WHETHER BRITISH WOULD BE GRANTED TO
UMELCO MEMBERS UNDER THE DNA 1981, IT WAS EXPLAINED THAT THE
DISCRETION TO GRANT BRITISH CITIZENSHIP UNDER THE BNA 1921 LAY
WITH THE BRITISH COVERNMENT.
PRESS COVERAGE
9. PUBLICATION OF THE DRAFT ORDER AND RELEASE OF DETAILS
REGARDING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE ISSUE OF BN(0) PASSPORTS WEPE PROMINENTLY COVERED BY THE PRESS. THIS ITEM WAS THE HEADLINE STORY IN THE NEW BULLETINS OF ALL TV AND RADIO STATIONS ON THE EVENING OF 17 OCTOBER AND THE MORNING OF 12 OCTOBER. THE LEADING LEFTIST PAPERS, WEN WEI PO AND TA KUNG PO. REPORTED IT AS AN INSIDE LEAD STORY. WHILE THE TIVE TIN DAILY NEWS AND THE HONG KONG COMMERCIAL DAILY REPORTED IT AS FRONT-PAGE STORY. THE EDITORIAL
OF THE WEN WEI PO COMMENTED THAT THE REAL ISSUE WAS THE
ACCEPTABILITY OF THE EN(0) PASSPORT. AND NOTED THAT THE UK GOVERNMENT IMPOSED TOUGHER ENTRY REQUIREMENTS ON BDTC PASSPORT HOLDERS THAN COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES. SEVERAL NEWSPAPERS. INCLUDING THE SCMP AND THE HONG KONG STANDARD. PUBLISHED THE FULL TEXT OF
THE DRAFT ORDER.
GENERAL COMMENT
10. THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS DOMINATED THE SCENE BY MAKING CYNICAL REMARKS ON THE ACCEPTABILITY OF BN (0) PASSPORTS AND SWEEPING CONDEMNATION OF THE UK GOVERNMENT'S ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS HONG KONG DDTCS. QUESTIONS RAISED BY LOCAL REPORTERS WERE LARGELY FACTUAL. MIFT CONTAINS A SUMMARY OF MEDIA COVERAND AND COMMENTS ON 12 OCTOBER COMPILED BY GIS.
RESTRICTED
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