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China (Amendment) Order in Council 1981.
The Act, Section 1 (1) states that the child
of a British subject shall be deemed to have been born
within His majesty's allegiance if born in a nince where
His Lajesty' exercises jurisdiction over British sub-
jects.
The provision, which was obviously intended to
meet the case of generations of white British subjects
born in an exterritorial country, becomes cuite impracti-
cable when applied to persons of Chinese origin.
irken
as it stands, it means that a Chinese who has been børn,
say, in Hongkong and co is a British subject, may return
to China, and endow his docendents to the th generation
with British nationality provided they are all born in
China without a break, This however is precisely what
we object to the chinese doing (1.e. claiming as Chinese
subjects al the decendents of a Chinese subject, although
all born abroad, see my despatch 1.374.)
Chanter XXV Section 25 of the new General Con-
sular Instructions 18 nresumably intended to meet this
objection, and states that "ersons of dual nationality
when in the country of the second nationality are not
to 42238
entitled to protection against the authorities of that
country, but Chapter XXV11 Section 18, says that they
may be registered there.
Protection in an exterritorial country like
China means a great deal more than it does in a Europei
state and is inextricably bound up with jurisdiction.
The Chinese Government claims as Chinese subjects all
persons of Chinese race where ever born, so that these
instructions take us to the other extreme from the
position adopted by the Nationality Act, and preclude
us from recognising as a British subject in China any
person of Chinese race though his ancestors may have
been born for generations in His Majesty's Dominions,
This also is impracticable, and I have been compelled,
as reported to Your Lordship in my despatch No.374,
to issue a Circular to Jonsuls informing them that
Chapter XXV paragraph 25 of the new Consular Instruct-
ions is not as yet applicable to China, and that they
should continue to be guided by previogs standing in-
structions on the subject.
For convenience of reference I have the
honour to enclose a summary of them herewith (enclosure
/entitled
Alo.
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