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sympathetic consideration of applications from ex-servicemen who apply to register at discretion as British citizens under S.4(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981; and consideration of avenues to British citizenship for those ex-servicemen who are not eligible to apply under S.4(5) because they served in regular army units and not in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps.
- full British citizenship for the British ethnic minority communities of Hong Kong whose BN (0) status is merely a disguised form of statelessness.
Ministers have indicated that consideraton is being given to the first of these, a passport endorsement to ensure easier entry to Britain ("we shall do our best to find an acceptable formula" Lord Glenarthur, 20 January, col. 103). But there has not yet been any commitment to act on the other issues.
In the debates on the Hong Kong Act last year, Ministers were reluctant to concede the case for British citizenship for the minorities: "We do not think it would be right to discriminate in favour of one section of the BDTC population in Hong Kong. We believe that it would be deeply resented by other sections of the community who of course would continue to constitute the vast majority. In the Second Reading debate I think that some of your Lordships may have dismissed rather easily the feelings of the Chinese BDTCs....I believe that most of them would argue that if we were to give the right of abode to any one section of the community, they should have it too" (Baroness Young, 14 March, col.239). Events have proved Baroness Young wrong in her fears and their Lordships right. Hong Kong's Legislative Council has unanimously recommended that the minorities and the ex-servicemen should be granted full British citizenship and, in an unprecedented move, official members of the Council, representing the Hong Kong Government, have endorsed the call for reform of the proposals. The Legco motion said: "On the matter of nationality we are unanimous. Our views have received comprehensive support in the community.. It would be irresponsible of the British government to ignore them."
In a letter sent to all MPs and Lords, the unofficial members added that they "are convinced that the Chinese majority in Hong Kong will not begrudge the ethnic minorities' special treatment". This is borne out by media comment in Hong Kong, which has supported the minorities' case: the Chinese Manufacturers Association, the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries even took out a full page advertisement urging the British government to act on the Legco recommendations. As far as we are aware there has
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been no hostile comment at all in the widespread press coverage. and appreciation of the special vulnerability of those without a secure nationality is very encouraging for the future of Hong Kong as a multi- racial, multi-national part of China.
Two of the MPs who spoke in the Commons debate were, however, afraid that action on behalf of this small group would be seen by the People's Republic of China as an indication that Britain and some of its nationals in Hong Kong did not trust the Agreement or doubted China's ability or willingness to keep to its terms. Mr Waddington, the Minister of State, in his wind-up speech, endorsed this fear. Yet recent comments in Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong, whose views usually reflect those of Beijing, have shown this not to be the case. Before the Commons debate, Wen Wei Po's commentary column endorsed all the Legislative Council's recommendations: on the minorities issue the author said "one cannot ignore history, one should not depart from reality. These people have been holding British passports all along and if the result of these several changes of name causes them to lose their nationality then to them this is hard to accept." The daily Ta Kung Po's