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mother's nationality only when her father's nationality was uncertain or unknown. When the nationality of both parents was uncertain or unknown, the principle of jus sanguinis was relaxed and the doctrine of jus soli was invoked to give Chinese nationality to a child born in China. The prominence of the doctrine of jus sanguinis and the denial of the right of automatic expatriation in these old nationality laws de- rived naturally from China's traditional view of the perpetual alle- giance of the overseas Chinese as a source of strength, and from China's policy of preventing these Chinese from falling under foreign domination." Moreover, China believed that her population was al- ready too large to admit additional people from outside the country, which would have resulted from the adoption of the doctrine of jus soli.
In the PRC's 1980 law, jus sanguinis remains the primary method for determining original acquisition of Chinese nationality, but notions of jus soli have also been incorporated. In deference to the general trend of nationality laws in other countries20 and in reaction to the problems resulting after World War II from double nationality," the new law combines the doctrines of jus sanguinis and jus soli to deny Chinese nationality to a child born overseas to Chinese parents settled abroad when the child acquires foreign nationality at birth." A more detailed analysis of the effects of the 1980 Nationality Law follows in section II of this article.
C. Equality of the Sexes
Although not explicitly stipulated, one of the basic principles of the PRC's new Nationality Law is equality of the sexes. This principle is consistent with China's socialist ideology of law and is expressed in its Constitution, which states: Women enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of political, economic, cultural, social and family life."
19. For the historical background of China's first nationality law, see 1 J. COHEN & H. CHIU, supra note 14, at 746.
20. See Gong, On the Nationality Law of China, Bewing Rev. No. 45, at 24, 25 (1980).
21. See generally Note. Expatriating the Dual National, 68 Yale L.J. 1167 (1959) (problems of dual nationality during and after World War II).
22. Article 5 of the 1980 Nationality Law states:
Any person born abroad whose parents are Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national has Chinese nationality. But a person whose par- ents are Chinese nationals and have settled abroad or one of whose parents is a Chinese national and has settled abroad and who has acquired foreign national- ity on birth does not have Chinese nationality.
23. PRC CONST. art. 48 states: "Women in the People's Republic of China enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, political, economic, cultural and social, including
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