TNAG-1343-FCO40-1773-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Beijing-fo-1984 — Page 29

unreconciled.

CONFIDENTIAL

Nationality

5.

Nationality will be one of the most controversial issues as far

as EXCO is concerned. In particular, they are concerned that:

a)

the new form of British nationality should carry the same

benefits as BDTC status, except for transmissibility:

b) the acquisition of the new form by BDTC's should be as of

right;

c)

such acquisition should be automatic (which would contravene

the UK Memorandum);

d)

adequate provisions should be made to ensure that no-one is

made stateless as a result of the agreement and the UK Memorandum;

e) better still, that nobody should become stateless, whatever the

cause;

f) BDTC passports should be retained until the latest possible

date and not replaced by new-style ones before 1997.

6.

There is a specific reference to statelessness in the draft Bill. Our aim, however, has been that the Bill should provide as general an authority as possible for the drafting of the Order in

Council. It is not intended that the Bill should set out the

details of the amendments to be made to the nationality legislation. These will clearly involve a great deal of discusion with the Home Office and Hong Kong. If members of EXCO raise points of detail concerning nationality, it is therefore suggested that the Secretary of State take the line that these will be the subject of detailed discussion during the drafting of the Order in Council,

but that as

far as the Bill is concerned, what is important is to

ensure that it does not preclude us from including any particular

points in the Order in Council.

Adaptation of the Law

7.

This section of the Bill is straightforward. It enables Order

in Council to allow us to localise Hong Kong's laws, many of which

now depend on UK legislation. It will also allow LEGCO to make laws having extra-territorial effect. We will however maintain a power

CONFIDENTIAL