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DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
such as the entitlement to use a British passport and to
receive British consular protection in third countries.
The new status will not, however, be transmissible to
later generations. The British Nationality (Hong Kong)
Order 1986, which was fully debated in Parliament,
created the new status of British National (Overseas)
(BN(0)).
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
54.
The Hong Kong Government began issuing passports
in the new BN (0) status from 1 July 1987. This was in
order to continue the existing practice of issuing
passports with a 10 year validity and to allow maximum
time for third countries to get used to the new
nationality status. The new BN (0) status will be
acquired by former Hong Kong BDTCs only if they obtain a
British passport in that status before 1 July 1997. The
Government launched a major diplomatic campaign to secure
worldwide acceptance of the new document as a fully valid
British passport. No country has said that it will not
recognise the new BN (0) pasport.
55. The position of the Chinese Government as stated in
the Chinese Memorandum is that all Hong Kong Chinese
compatriots are Chinese nationals. But the Memorandum
also states that those Chinese nationals (previously
called BDTCs) who hold British travel documents may
continue to use them after 30 June 1997. (Such persons
will not of course be entitled to British consular
protection in the Hong Kong SAR or in other parts of
China.)