by the Chinese authority.
10
who travelled to China with "compatriot certificates" and were detained
In answering questions about those cases,
consistently pointed out "those ethnic Chinese
British
officers
residents of Hong Kong who are both citizens of the United Kingdom and
colonies and citizens of the People's Republic of China are therefore
not entitled to official consular protection in China.
» 11
But to the PRC, by referring to Hong Kong Chinese as "compatriot,"
the recognition of dual citizenship is inappropriate here. The PRC had
taken the initiative of settling the issue of dual citizenship for
"Overseas Chinese" with Indonesia in 1954. They had also talked to
several other nations about settlement of dual citizenship for "Overseas
Chinese" in countries such as North Vietnam, Burma and the People's
13
12
Republic of Mongolia. Judging from various indications,
highly
inconsistent and
it would be
inappropriate politically for the PRC to take
Hong Kong Chinese British subjects as dual citizens. China' $ latest
reference to all Chinese in Hong Kong as Chinese nationals, as disclosed
in the Sino-British Agreement, conveys this thought of PRC. The latest
nationality law enacted in 1979 has also declared that the PRC does not
14 recognize dual citizenship for her nationals.
By insisting on this attitutde, the PRC is doing something of
defend herself politically. The Kuomintang had
utmost
important
to
never recognized Japanese citizenship for Taiwan Chinese. When Taiwan
was returned to China right after WWII, the Kuomintang cleaned up Taiwan
politically without taking account of Japanese citizens, whom they
15
persecuted. To react otherwise now,
the PRC would be worried of being
called cowardly in front of foreign powers.
Thirdly, in early 1950, when the Hong Kong government tightened up
immigration control in the part of Lo Wu right next to China's Shenzhen
borders in an attempt to cut down illegal immigrants from China, the PRC
1980
6