TNAG-1372-FCO40-1818-Ministerial-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 136

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5. THERE ARE ABOUT 10,000 NON-CHINESE BDTCS IN HONG KONG INCLUDING

ROUGHLY 6,000 INDIANS, AND UNKNOWN NUMBERS OF BANGLADESHI AND PORTUGUESE. THERE ARE ALSO ABOUT 200 PARSEES. THESE PEOPLE,

TOGETHER WITH A SMALL NUMBER (ABOUT 100) OF FORMER MEMBERS OF

THE HONG KONG VOLUNTEER DEFENCE CORPS - NOW ROYAL HONG KONG

REGIMENT (THE VOLUNTEERS) - WHO FOUGHT IN DEFENCE OF HONG KONG IN

1941 AND BECAME PRISONERS OF WAR OF THE JAPANESE FROM DECEMBER

1941 TO SEPTEMBER 1945, ARE CONCERNED THAT THEY WIL BE

RENDERED STATELESS AFTER 30 JUNE 1997.

6. TO ALLEVIATE CONCERNS WITH STATLESSNESS EXPRESSED BY THE ETHNIC

MINORITIES IN HONG KONG (PARTICULARLY THE INDIANS), HMG GAVE, DURING DEBATE ON HONG KONG BILL IN HOUSE OF LORDS IN MARCH THIS

YEAR, AN UNDERTAKING THAT THE GRANDCHILDREN OF FORMER HONG KONG

BDTCS WOULD BE ENTITLED TO REGISTER AS BOCS WITHIN TWELVE MONTHS

OF THEIR BIRTH IF THEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE STATELESS. AT THE SAME

TIME IT WAS MADE CLEAR THAT BRITISH NATIONALITY COULD NOT BE

GRANTED INDEFINITELY AND WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS TO DESCENDANTS

OF BRITISH NATIONALS RESIDENT IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

MAIN ISSUES

7. THREE GROUPS HAVE SO FAR MADE REPRESENTATIONS TO HMG AND THE

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT PRESSING ADDITIONALLY FOR RIGHT OF ABODE IN

THE UK FOR THEIR MEMBERS AND CHILDREN. THEY ARE THE HONG KONG

COUNCIL OF INDIAN ASSOCIATIONS, THE HONG KONG PRISONERS OF WAR ASSOCIATION AND THE ZOROASTRIAN CHARITY FUNDS OF HONG KONG, CANTON AND MACAU. THEY AGREE THAT THEY ARE LIKELY TO BECOME STATELESS :

THAT THEY HAVE A LONG AND CLOSE ASSOCIATION WITH HONG KONG AND

THE BRITISH EMPIRE : AND THAT THEY MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO

DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION AFTER 1997.

YOUDE

LIMITED

HKD

FED

PS /MR RENTON SIR W. HARDING DR WILSON

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