TNAG-1093-FCO40-1343-Chinese-acceptance-of-Hong-Kong-British-passports-1981 — Page 4

CONFIDENTIAL

British Ebassy

HKCK 343/1

RECEIVED WEY NO. 51

-

- 3 FEB 1981

PEKING

DESK OFFICER INDEX

PA

REGISTRY Action Taken

16 Januar

MS

is. IL

fum 131~

I C Orr Esq APA

HONG KONG

Dene kain Dear

Aw

Clift

Mui

жел

to confirm beyond doubt

Ath. British

the official PRC pan porti.

1 gan

M.

Marine

HONG KONG BRITISH PASSPORTS

1.

यह

012

lence was

R

94ED 26),

245

asight met to purshi'it

Inviduaru

Mri)

MAED

COPIED AN=12

You will have seen our telno 23 about my call on Consular Department on 14 January. I thought it might be useful if I expanded slightly on paragraph 1 about the Chinese refusal to accept Hong Kong British passports for BA aircrews.

23.1.

22/2

2. Zhang said that all the departments concerned had been consulted about this problem, and left no doubt that the Chinese position was a final one. He said that the Chinese accepted that some Hong Kong residents had taken British nationality, and that the Hong Kong issued passport which they carried was valid for travel throughout the world; but it was not valid for travel to China.

3. As I reported by telegram, I thought it best not to press hard on this question. I was aware that what Zhang was saying was not in line with actual Chinese practice, for there are many instances where Hong Kong-issued passports are accepted. Naturally I considered it unwise to make any kind of stand which might eventually affect the practice outside the sphere of airline crews. (Ironically, Peter Shaw, the BA manager here, has a Hong Kong Chinese sidekick who travels on a Hong Kong British passport.) I am convinced that Zhang's remarks applied only to the aircrew question, but was conscious that any attempt to make a point of principle on the point would run the risk of leading to wider repercussions.

4. In view of the above, I confined myself to saying that the Chinese refusal was disappointing and that we regarded the passport holders in question as British. I said that I could myself hold a Hong Kong-issued British passport and had in the past done so, so there was no question that this was any less valid a document than a British passport issued elsewhere. Zhang replied that the passport which I might have held and that which a Hong Kong resident of Chinese origin might be issued were two different things. I denied this but decided at this point that it might be counter-productive to go any further along these lines.

15.