A
CONFIDENTIAL
3
Hong Kong Chinese, whether they are BDTCs or not, are Chinese
citizens, whom they have reluctantly agreed should use a foreign
travel document (they do not recognise the BN (0) status as а
form of British nationality, nor the passport that goes with it).
6.
BN(0) repatriations are likely to continue to be few
and the overall cost to HMG of failing to recover indiviual
repatriation costs will probably be very small. One possible
way of seeking reimbursement would be to impound the passports
of BN (O)s seeking repatriation and issue in their place single-
journey travel documents, or to restrict the validity of their
passports to a single journey to Hong Kong. Such restrictions
would remain until the repatriation debt was repaid.
7.
An argument against extending an undertaking to
repatriate destitute BN (0)s to Hong Kong after 30 June 1997
is that hitherto we have repatriated British nationals to a
foreign country only in exceptional circumstances.
To estab-
lish an exception in respect of BN (O)s might set an awkward
precedent as regards BOCS living in countries other than
Hong Kong. But we could certainly argue that Hong Kong is a
unique and special case.
8.
We have invested much political capital in the BN (0)
status and in gaining worldwide acceptance for it.
Such
/acceptance
CONFIDENTIAL