The non-ethnic Chinese are unhappy with the above arrangements, as the BN (0) passport will not provide them with an effective citizenship. Unlike the present BDTC status enjoyed by these people, the new title will not confer upon the holder the right of abode in the territory of the country which issues it (i.e. Britain), nor can it be passed on to future generations. Furthermore, it cannot guarantee its holders the right of abode in his home (Hong Kong) because Britain will no longer have jurisdiction here once sovereignty has passed to China. It cannot sufficiently be stressed that Hong Kong's position is unique: unlike other dependencies, it is not passing from colonial status to independence, but is becoming part of another country which has not granted its own citizenship to all Hong Kong British nationals.
The Order contains provisions for only three generations of non-ethnic Chinese BDTCS, which means that anyone born in Hong Kong after that time would be left stateless. children born abroad to non-Chinese BDTCs will have a form of British nationality but they will not have the right of abode in Hong Kong under the Agreement; China will only grant this if they live for seven years in Hong Kong.
Any form of nationality which has such serious shortcomings must be regarded as a uniquely attenuated one, and would leave its holder in a position of great disadvantage. The BN(0) status carries no notion of citizenship, and is little better than a travel document facility. Yet this is all the British government has been prepared to offer to the 10,000 or so non-ethnic Chinese BDTCS. We therefore request that this small group of people be given full British citizenship with the right of abode in the UK, and we urge you to express our view to Her Majesty's Government. Of this group some 4,500 to 6,000 are of ethnic Indian origin without being Indian citizens, and while our Council is primarily concerned with the fate of this particular group, any plea which we make must also apply to the other 3,000 to 4,000 ethnic minority BDTCs who are largely of Portuguese or Eurasian origin.
The ethnic Indian BDTCs came to Hong Kong because it was a part of the British Empire. They were first brought out here by the British to help colonise Hong Kong in the nineteenth century and many have since served the Crown loyally as policemen, soldiers and civil servants. Many came here shortly after India became independent in 1947 and, having decided to settle here, renounced their Indian citizenship and became British in the expectation that they would spend the rest of their lives under British rule. They therefore severed their ties with India when they swore allegiance to the Crown.
While they would not argue with the political reality of a return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the ethnic Indian