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did not consider
it right to accede to the request for British
citizenship for ethnic minority BDTCs.
Ministers took
took the view that
the provisions of the Joint Declaration and the proposed Order in
Council met fully the concern of this community to have both a
recognised nationality status and a secure right of abode in Hong
Kong, where they want to continue to live. However, Ministers, in
recognising the concern felt among this community in Hong Kong,
Parliament that they would consider it an obligation upon
any future government to treat with very considerable and particular
sympathy the case for admission to the United Kingdom of any
individual British national who, against all expectations, came
to leave Hong Kong.
stated
in
under pressure
16.
initiated
in
Once the Order had
September 1986
been made Her Majesty's yovernment
an extensive diplomatic exercise to
explain to other countries the new status and the passport that goes
with it. Parliament will be informed of the results of the exercise
SO far has been favourable, and the
The response
in due course.
Government are confident that the new
international acceptance.
status will receive widespread
17.
On 11 April 1986,
Memoranda
were exchanged between the
Chinese Ministry
of Foreign
British Embassy in Leking and the
Affairs recording the agreement reached on the terms of a right of
abode endorsement to be
British
S
entered in the passports of
Nationals (Overseas). This endorsement will indicate the holder'
right to return to Hong Kong and thus make the British National (Overseas) Passport more readily acceptable for international travel
before and after 1997.
(e) Drafting of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region
18.
Under paragraph 3(12) of the Joint Declaration the policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong, which are set out in paragraph 3 of the Joint Declaration, and the elaboration of
them in Annex I to the
the Joint Declaration are to be stipulated in a
Basic Law of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China by the Chinese National People's
People's
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