APR.23 '86 15:14 GMT HO 2 LUNAR HOUSE
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...
sense will be included, slight drafting
amendments.
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In sum
In such cases, people who did not become citizens of the newly independent country (and there were many who did
not) retained their British nationality. Those who did
not have close connections with the United Kingdom itself
will generally have automatically become British Overseas citizens on 1 January 1983. To grant British citizenship,
rather than British Overseas citizenship, to those Hong
Kong BDTCs who will not automatically acquire Chinese
nationality and who have no other form of nationality would
not therefore be consistent with this general principle,
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(and) could lead other British Overseas citizens in many
parts of the world to believe they had been unfairly treated,f Pwe
We have also been mindful that while people's present wish
is to continue to live and work in Hong Kong, they might
wish to have a form of citizenship which gave them an
unquestioned right of abode elsewhere. We do not believe
it would be desirable nor is it necessary to make such
arrangements at the present time. It would raise uncertainty
about the size of this country's future commitments, and
it would not in our judgement be a sensible basis on which
over igendation of the True Dechouation) to continue the positive and constructive work which needs
to be carried out, up to 1997 and beyond. But we have made
it plain, and I wish to make it clear again, that if
circumstances were to change and any British national came
under pressure to leave Hong Kong in the future, we would
expect the Government of the day to consider sympathetically
whether to admit them to the United Kingdom on a case by
case basis. We believe this is the right way to proceed.
brams
Z We bettave therefore that the agreement we have reached
with the Chinese Government and which is reflected in the
Nationality Order provides all Hong Kong British Dependent
Territories citizens, whatever their ethnic origin, with
an assured citizenship status and a continued legal right
to live in Hong Kong.
ery confidence that-the
provisions of the agreement will be implemented in full.
I appreciate that this decision will come as a disappointment.
I hope nevertheless the Council will aider carefully conside
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