RE-DRAFT OF PARAGRAPHS 9 AND 12 OF ANNEX TO MINUTE TO PRIME MINISTER
9. The non-ethnic Chinese community argue that this is not adequate because British Overseas citizenship does not give them the right of abode anywhere in the world. They therefore maintain that it amounts to a form of statelessness. They also argue that it is wrong that their third generation descendants should be threatened with statelessness arguing that there is no automatic right for such people to acquire Chinese citizenship. (The Chinese Government, while agreeing that they have the discretionary ability to offer Chinese citizenship in such cases, have made it clear that they would prefer the British to solve this problem). The minorities argue that because, unlike the Chinese community in Hong Kong, they will not have automatic entitlement to Chinese citizenship, they deserve special consideration from HMG.
The Government's views on this request were explained fully by Ministers during the debates in Parliament in January. The communities concerned say that they wish to continue to live and work in Hong Kong. British citizenship cannot give them the right of abode in Hong Kong, which is however secured by the Joint Declaration. Nor would the grant of British citizenship prevent the third generation from becoming stateless, since the BNA only allows the transmission of British citizenship to two generations born overseas. The only justification for giving British citizenship to thse people in fact would be that it would allow them to come to the UK after 1997 if things do not work out well for them in Hong Kong.
We suspect that this is the real motivation of the people concerned. However it is by no means clear that it would be right to grant such an insurance policy to this sector of the community alone in Hong Kong. In our view the grant of British Overseas citizenship and the provisions on right of abode in the Joint Declaration guarantee that those concerned will have a place to call their home and that, for as long as it is reasonable for us to guarantee it, there will be no question of their becoming stateless.
12. Alternatively it might be possible to set up a two-tier system whereby the present community and their children (about 11,000) could acquire British citizenship after 1997 but those who become BDTCs from now on and