TNAG-1082-FCO40-1332-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 130

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In a further telegram from Hong Kong concern has been expressed about their nationality' under the Bill. The Governor says:

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'Unofficials made the point again that the creation of CBDT (Hong Kong) did not alter their nationality. As citizens of a dependent territory they argued that they remain British nationals but without the right of entry or abode in the UK. Is this correct?'

Subject to your views and those of the Home Office, to whom I am copying this minute, I propose to answer on the following lines:

'It is correct to say that CBDTs will remain British (or UK) nationals. 'Nationals' is an international law term which denotes the relationship between an individual and the state which claims to represent his interests in the sphere of international relations. Municipal legislation, on the other hand, may subdivide nationals into categories each possessing a different status and different rights, and certain nationals may be excluded from rights of, eg, the rights citizens in the metropolitan territory.

In the sense of being nationals the position of CBDTs is not altered by the Bill.

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3. I have drawn on page 3 of Mervyn Jones' book on British Nationality Law, 1956 edition. I thought it desirable to modify it slightly so as not to attach too strong an entitlement deriving from the status of 'national' nor to draw their attention to the fact that French law distinguishes between the two groups using the terms French citizen and French subject, which would probably be much to Hong Kong's liking. I am also influenced by the fact that Professor Parry in his evidence to the Sub-Committee on Race Relations and Immigration recently and in a subsequent discussion which I had with him expressed a strong view that the rights and consequences that derived from being a national were uncertain. He seemed sceptical that the term national had real meaning in a practient fince because other might dispute a state's claim to represent a partientes person as for

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W Jones Nationality and Treaty Department

CODE 18-77

SS 8/78

17 March 1981

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