03-04-1990
16:30 HKGO LONDON 01 495 5033
44 1 495 5033 P.03
01 270 1111
03
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SWIA OAA
-2-
Dual citizensnip is not recognised in China.
therefore, treat any Hong Kong Chinese with a British passport as
The Chinese will, if they are alien and with the hostility that the Chinese have traditionally reserved for foreigners which they have recently confirmed by announcing that anyone holding a British passport cannot also held Hong Kong Chinese citizenship. Accordingly, we
can expect that, certainly after 1997, most passport holders will eventually take advantage of their right of residence in Britain or Europe.
The most significant point is that by giving British passports to Hong Kong Chinese we are reinforcing the lack of confidence in the future of Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty felt by potential emigrants and thereby undermining the spirit and purpose of the Treaty signed in 1984.
Such an affirmation of our lack of confidence in the Treaty we signed is likely to trigger a larger exodus of Hong Kong Chinese who are not given passports.
The act of deciding which 50,000 heads of households will be given British passports will itself create bitterness and anxiety amongst those not selected making them more determined to leave for destinations other than Britain and further undermining confidence in the future of Hong Kong and exacerbating the emigration problem.
The PRC, justifiably in these circumstances, will see our act of granting passports to 50,000 of the most highly skilled people of Hong Kong as e deliberate attempt on our part to undermine the economic prosperity and stability of Hong Kong which we undertook in the 1984 Treaty to maintain.