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CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO 181630Z JANUARY 85
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
TELEGRAM NUMBER 120 OF 18 JANUARY
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
YOUR TELNOS 144-145:
LEGISLATION
1.
HONG KONG AGREEMENT:
21 JAN 1935
nex
NATIONALITY
HOME OFFICE OFFICIALS HAVE CONSIDERED YOUR OBJECTIONS TO
DEFINING A CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG IN TERMS OF HONG KONG
BELONGER STATUS.
2. IT IS NOT CLEAR TO THE HOME OFFICE WHY THEIR PROPOSAL SHOULD
NOT WORK. WHATEVER DEFINITION IS USED, IT IS SURELY THE CASE
THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE WHO WILL LOSE BDTC STATUS WILL BE
HONG KONG BELONGERS. THEY CONSIDER IT SENSIBLE, THEREFORE, TO
FORMULATE A DEFINITION ON THIS BASIS, WITH SUCH AMENDMENTS AS MAY
BE NECESSARY TO RESOLVE ANY ANOMALIES IN THE IMMIGRATION
ORDINANCE.
3. THE DEFINITION IN PARA 2(1) OF THE DRAFT ORDER (A COPY OF
WHICH WAS SENT TO YOU UNDER COPY OF HOARE'S LETTER TO CHAN OF 17
JANUARY) MAKES IT CLEAR THAT IT CAN APPLY ONLY TO HONG KONG BDTCS
WHO ARE ALSO HONG KONG BELONGERS. THUS ANY HONG KONG BELONGER
WHO IS NOT A BDTC (SUCH AS THE EXAMPLE YOU QUOTED OF A PERSON WHO
HAD RENOUNCED BRITH NATIONALITY) WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE
EXCLUDED FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THE ORDER.
4. CONVERSELY ANY CATEGORY OF HONG KONG BDTC WHO IS NOT A HONG
KONG BELONGER COULD BE SPECIFICALLY ADDED TO THE LIST. IN THIS
CONTEXT THE HOME OFFICE NOTE THAT THE ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES
LISTED IN TELNO 145 REPRESENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIST OF HONG KONG
BDTCS, AND NOT NECESSARILY TO THE LIST OF HONG KONG BELONGERS IN
THE IMMIGRATION ORDINANCE. THEY WOULD FIND IT HELPFUL TO KNOW
WHICH CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE IN THE LIST AMENDED AS PROPOSED BY YOU
ARE NOT HONG KONG BELONGERS.
5. THE POINT OF THE 'EXCEPTION TO LOSS' CLAUSE IS THAT MIXED
BDTCS (IE BDTCS WHO DERIVE THEIR STATUS FROM A CONNECTION WITH
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