22-JAN-1991 14:53
DIRECTOR OF ADM.
852 877 0802
P.40
1984)
NATIONALITY LAW OF THE PRC
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ted to relocate freely to their original country within two years of their declaration. Similar agreement was reached in the 1962 Sino-Nepalese Exchange of Notes Concerning the Choice of Nationality by Inhabi- tants of Certain Border Areas, although the two-year limit on repatria- tion was removed. 18
In light of the British and Chinese practices of resolving issues of nationality, two questions arise: what is the most appropriate model to apply in the context of Hong Kong after 1997 and whether the solution actually arrived at in the Joint Declaration is a desirable one. It is sub- mitted that the terms of the Joint Declaration are a wise and tactful compromise on this sensitive issue, ultimately reflecting more of the British approach than the Chinese one. The status of Chinese in Hong Kong as of 1997 is addressed in two memoranda that will be formally exchanged between Britain and China on the day of the final signing of the Joint Declaration.14 Essentially, the Chinese memorandum de- clares that under China's Nationality Law all Hong Kong Chinese com- patriots, whether or not they have BDTC status, are Chinese nationals. It grants BDTC holders the right to use their British travel documents for travel to other states and regions. While the memorandum seems to reflect a continuation of the PRC's basic policy of nonrecognition of dual nationality, it falls short of a clear statement to this effect. Per- haps this can be construed as an affirmation of exclusive Chinese na- tionality, evidencing tolerance, although not recognition, of BDTC sta- tus. Finally, China states that BDTC holders will not be entitled to British consular protection in China or Hong Kong on the basis of this document.
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The reciprocal British memorandum essentially ends further grants of BDTC or equivalent status as of July 1, 1997. This will re- quire an amendment of the British Nationality Act which, as men- tioned earlier, would have extended BDTC status to the first genera- tion born in Hong Kong after 1997.156
These memoranda reject the freedom of choice model that had been used by China previously. As the following discussion will make clear, such a model would not have been practical or even meaningful
133. Sino-Nepalese Exchange of Notes Concerning the Questions of Choice of Na- tionality, Transfrontier Cultivation of Lands and Transfrontier Pasturing by the Inhabi- tants of Certain Border Areas (Aug. 14, 1962), reprinted in 1 J. CoнEN & H. CHIV, supra note 14, at 785.
134. See supra note 107.
135. The term BDTC will be used in this section to designate the status before 1997 called BDTC and also, for simplicity's sake, the new as-yet unnamed “uppropriate sta- tus” which will come into being in 1997, when BDTC ceases to exist.
136. See supra note 107.