CO129-503-8 Treatment of Asiatic British subjects by French Authorities in Indo-China 30-12-1926 - 20-10-1927 — Page 13

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1. Every person born in Hong Kong since it became British territory is, by virtue of his birth within the British

dominions, a British subject in the fullest sense, irrespect-

ive of his race or parentage.

2. A person of Chinese parentage born in Hong Kong is a

natural-born British subject, and is as fully a British subject as if he had been born in England of English parents. In no case does the word "subject" in the term "British

subject" connote any inferiority.

3. (a) The status of a person of Chinese parentage who is a British subject by virtue of his birth in Hong Kong is

identical with that of a British subject who is such by

virtue of his birth in England of English parents.

(b) The status of a Chinese who is a British subject by virtue of his naturalization under the provisions of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Acts, 1914 to 1922,

is identical with the status of a natural-born British subject, except of course that in cert in circumstances his certificate of naturalization may be revoked. The Acts referred to above are enactments of the Imperial legislature, and this kind of naturalization is popularly known as "imper-

ial naturalization".

(c) The status of a Chinese who has merely been. naturalized locally under the provisions of the Naturalizat- ion Ordinance, 1902, is identical with that of a natural- born British subject while the naturalized person is in Hong Kong. The Ordinance referred to above is an enactment of the Hong Kong legislature, and this limited kind of naturalization is popularly known as "local naturɛlization.

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