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QUESTION:

HARVEY STOCKWIN, TIMES OF INDIA: MR MINISTER, THE BRITISH WHITE PAPER ON THE ORDER IN COUNCIL REGARDING THE BN(0) QUESTION, MAKES GREAT PLAY WITH THE FACT THAT BRITAIN IS HONOURING ITS PLEDGE TO REDUCE STATELESSNESS. NOW IN ONE

VITAL ASPECT I WOULD PUT IT TO YOU THAT IN FACT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS INCREASING STATELESSNESS. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE ANOMALOUS POSITION OF THE MINORITIES IN HONG KONG, THE INDIANS, PAKISTANIS, PORTUGUESE, AND OTHERS, THE NON-ETHNIC CHINESE, WHO WILL ON THE ONE HAND NOT COME WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF RIGID CHINESE NATIONALITY LAW, AND ON THE OTHER HAND BRITAIN WILL NOT BE ABLE TO OFFER THEM CONSULAR PROTECTION WITHIN HONG KONG AFTER 1997. IN OTHER WORDS, BRITAIN IS GIVING THEM A PASSPORT BUT BRITAIN WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP THEM IN THE PLACE WHERE BRITAIN EXPECTS THEM TO RESIDE. NOW, I KNOW THIS IS NOT TECHNICAL STATELESSNESS, BUT SURELY THIS IS STATELESSNESS IN ALL BUT NAME.

J

MR RENTON: WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. I AM GLAD YOU RAISED

IT,

BECAUSE I DO THINK IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT. I MEÁN IF I COULD DEAL WITH TWO ASPECTS OF THAT. I MEAN, FIRSTLY THE QUESTION OF CONSULAR PROTECTION. THE UK MEMORANDUM ON NATIONAL ITY SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT EXCLUDE THE PROVISION OF BRITISH CONSULAR PROTECTION FOR NON- CHINESE BN(0)'S OR BOC'S IN THE HONG KONG SAR SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT EXCLUDE PROVISION OF CONSULAR PROTECTION FOR THOSE PEOPLE. I MEAN, SECONDLY ON THE STATELESSNESS OR STATUS OF MINORITY GROUPS, AS YOU WILL KNOW WE HAVE PROVIDED FOR DESCENDANTS OF FORMER BDTC'S WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS TO RETAIN A FORM OF BRITISH NATIONALITY, BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP, FOR TWO GENERATIONS AFTER '97 AND THIS TAKES US UP TO THE MIDDLE OF THE 21ST CENTURY. WE DO THEN BELIEVE THAT THE RIGHT COURSE FOR THOSE WHO ARE PERMANENTLY SETTLED, WHAT WILL THEN BE A PART OF CHINA, THAT THE RIGHT COURSE WOULD BE FOR THEM TO BECOME CHINESE NATIONALS. BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE MATTERS THAT WE SHALL BE PURSUING WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT.

QUESTION (BY HARVEY STOCKWIN): ON THE ONE HAND, SIR, WOULDN'T IT

BE MORE ACCURATE FOR THE WHITE PAPER TO REFER TO POSTPONING STATELESSNESS RATHER THAN REDUCING IT, IN THE SENSE THAT YOU ARE EXPECTING PEOPLE TO BE HAPPY WITH A SITUATION IN WHICH THE IR GRANDSONS ARE TAKEN CARE OF BUT NOTHING BEYOND THAT? AND SECONDLY, CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG, BUT IN THE MEMORANDUM BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND THE BRITISH GOVERNMENTS ON NATIONALITY APPENDED TO THE JOINT DECLARATION, IT WAS STATED THAT BRITA IN WOULD NOT HAVE CONSULAR PROTECTION RIGHTS IN HONG KONG AFTER 1997.

/MR RENTON:

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