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THEY MIGHT USE CERTIFICATES OF IDENTIFY OR CHINESE PASSPORTS WHEN
LEAVING THE TERRITORY AND THEN USE OTHER PASSPORTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. MR LU SAID THAT TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN HOLDERS OF THE BOTC? (BLDC PASSPORTS AND BRITISH PASSPORTS GRANTED UNDER THE NATIONALITY
PACKAGE WOULD BE A MATTER OF TECHNICALITY. HK BRITISH MIGHT BE ASKED TO DECLARE HOW THEY HAD OBTAINED THEIR PASSPORTS OR WHETHER
THEY HAD RESIDED IN BRITAIN.
5.
THE NATIONALITY (HK) BILL DREW WIDE COMMENTS FROM LEADER WRITERS AND COMMENTATORS DURING THE WEEK UNDER REVIEW. MOST INDEPENDENT PAPERS NOTED THAT THE BILL WAS NOT A FAIR ONE. HOWEVER, THEY WERE OF THE VIEW THAT THE BILL WOULD HELP STEM THE DRAIN DRAIN. ONLY ONE PRO-PEKING PAPER, THE HK COMMERCIAL DAILY (6.4), COMMENTED ON THE BILL. THE PAPER SAID THAT IF THE REAL PURPOSE OF THE BILL WAS TO HELP STEM THE BRAIN DRAIN, IT WAS A GOOD THING. HOWEVER, IT WAS WORRIED THAT THE BILL MIGHT BE USED AS A MOVE TO ALLOW THE BRITISH TO CONTINUE TO RUN HK. A FEW PAPERS (7.4) CARRIED A BY-LINED COMMENTARY ISSUED BY THE HK CHINA NEWS AGENCY, WHICH SAID THAT THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE WOULD CAUSE MORE PEOPLE TO
EMIGRATE.
BASIC LAW
6. THE MEDIA (5.4) COVERED THE PROMULGATION OF THE BL BY THE NPC. WU XIEQIAN SAID THAT HK WOULD ENTER A NEW STAGE FOLLOWING THE PROMULGATION OF THE BASIC LAW, THE MEDIA (5.4) REPORTED. HE SAID THAT MUCH WORK NEEDED TO BE DONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPIRIT AND PRINCIPLES OF THE BL IN THE RUN-UP TO 1997. HE STRESSED THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING AT THE MOMENT WAS CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT AND THE BRITISH-HK GOVERNMENT. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT SAID THAT THE BL PROMULGATED BY THE NPC WAS ACCEPTABLE, THE MEDIA (6.4) REPORTED. HOWEVER, IT URGED THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT TO QUICKEN THE PACE OF DIRECT ELECTION.
THE HKG SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT THE PROMULGATION OF THE BL WAS AN IMPORTANT LANDMARK IN LAYING FOUNDATIONS FOR HK'S FUTURE STATUS AS AN SAR, THE MEDIA (6.4) REPORTED. THE STATEMENT SAID THAT CHANGES HAD BEEN MADE TO MANY PROVISIONS AS A RESULT OF ''DETAILED CONFIDENTIAL DISCUSSIONS'' WITH THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES DURING THE COURSE OF THE DRAFTING PROCESS. THE GOVERNMENT SAID THAT IT WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO SEE MORE DIRECTLY ELECTED SEATS IN THE BL FOR
1997.
8.
SPEAKING AT A PRESS CONFERENCE, ZHOU NAN SAID THAT ALTHOUGH THE
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