XN000022-1996-12-05 — Page 6

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There is something else I would like to say about consular protection. The fact that full consular protection cannot always be provided in certain cases does not mean that a British Consulate or a British Embassy turns those who are in trouble away.

Let me just tell the Honourable gentleman what it says in the Guide which is available to the public on consular protection. It tells the public what a consul can do: issue emergency passports, contact relatives and friends and ask them to help with money or tickets and so on and so on. And at the bottom of the list, the sort of things that are of concern to all Honourable Members: contact and visit British Nationals under arrest or in prison and in circumstances arrange for messages to be sent to relatives or friends; give guidance on organisations experienced in tracing missing- persons; make representations on your behalf to the local authorities in certain circumstances.

And then it says the things that a Consul can't do and it mentions intervening in court proceedings, getting you out of prison, etc. And it says at the bottom that a Consul cannot formally assist dual nationals in the country of their second nationality. Note the word "formally" assist can't "formally" assist under the international convention. But certainly can assist and would assist as British Embassies, as British Consulates do all over the world, even where a British National has dual nationality. That happens already.

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The point I want to stress, again, is that there is no difference between a passport acquired under the BNS Scheme and any other passport. As far as Britain is concerned, those passports give somebody full consular protection, unless, as I said, evidence could be established to the contrary. And we do not and could not accept that your holding of a passport which you may have acquired under the BNS Scheme is, as it were, adequate evidence of dual nationality. That is the point which I think there has been confusion about and that is the point that I want to make very clearly today.

Dr Yeung Sum (in Chinese); I think those who know the law will understand that dual nationals may not be protected by the British Consulate in the country of second nationality. But what I asked was why the British Government did not make clear to the people of Hong Kong that after acquiring a British passport under the BNSS they might not be offered consular protection after 1997? I just want to know why this point was not simply made clear to the people of Hong Kong and why is it that the Governor has to make clear the point now?