3.5
The BNO or BOC passport is only be recognised by the Chinese Government as
a travel document (see the Chinese Memorandum to the Sino-British Joint
Declaration). The Chinese Government, through Mr. Lu Ping, Director of the
State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, have stated their view
that these minorities will be stateless (see the report in The Standard newspaper
dated 11th January, 1993). Consequently, such a passport will not entitle the
holder to return to the issuing country nor be able to seek its consulate
protection.
4.
Ethnic Minorities - The call for full British Nationality
4.1
4.2
4.3
In December 1984, the House of Lords debated the subject of Hong Kong and
the question of the ethnic minorities was raised. In January 1985, the House of
Commons debated Hong Kong and again the question of the ethnic minorities
was raised. Many members of both Houses recognized their predicament. The
British Government gave an undertaking that the nationality question for the
ethnic minorities in Hong Kong would be dealt with.
The British Government's response to the plight of the ethnic minorities was the
Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 wherein the new status of British
National (Overseas) was created. This was wholly inadequate; affected ethnic
minorities will be effectively left stateless (see further para. 4.6 below).
It is widely accepted that the affected ethnic minorities will be particularly
vulnerable after the transfer of sovereignty (see for example "Countdown to
1997 - Report of a Mission to Hong Kong", the International Commission of
Jurists, ICJ). Furthermore, the problems facing this group will be substantively
different from that facing the majority of the population who will not become
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