GRS 450
CONFIDENTIAL
FM PEKING
TO PRIORITY FCO
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK
:'.
10 OCT 1988
.15.
TELNO 1462
OF 10074OZ OCTOBER 85
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG
HKK σto/'S 101
V
HKK 040/15
102
A. n
(103) HKK040/15.
HONG KONG TELNO 2094, MY TELNO 1449 AND YOUR TELNO 1512 TO HONG KONG
PRIME MINISTER'S BILATERAL WITH ZHAO ZIYANG IN NEW YORK: HONG KONG: NATIONALITY ORDER IN COUNCIL
1. WE AGREE (YOUR TUR) THAT ZHAO IS UNLIKELY TO RAISE THE NATIONALITY ORDER IN COUNCIL WITH THE PRIME MINISTER.
,,3)324 11+, HOWEVER, BEEN GIVING SOME THOUAZOSGZLGWJXLFRAISE AT A L
OWER LEVEL. IN GENERAL AS THE ORDER
IN COUNCIL WILL BE THE MEANS BY WHICH WE IMPLEMENT THE TERMS OF THE UK MEMORANDUM ASSOCIATED WITH THE JOINT DECLARATION, WE WOULD NOT EXPECT THEM TO CAUSE ANY MAJOR DIFFICULTIES OVER IT.
3. WE THINK, HOWEVER, THAT THEY WILL LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT,
IN PARTICULAR, ARTICLE 6 WHICH SETS OUT MEASURES TO AVOID STATELESS- NESS. WHEN WE FIRST PUT THE CHINESE ON NOTICE, PRIOR TO THE PARLAIMENTARY DEBATES ON HONG KONG, OF OUR INTENTION TO INTRODUCE MEASURES OF THIS KIND THERE WAS INITIALLY SOME MISUNDERSTANDING
AND EVEN SUSPICION ON THEIR PART ABOUT WHAT WE WERE PROPOSING. THEY EVANTUALLY ACCEPTED THAT OUR INTENTIONS WERE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THEY STATED TO BE THEIR POSITION OF PRINCIPLE ON STATELESSNESS, VIZ THAT NO ONE (INCLUDING STATELESS PERSONS) SHOULD BE PERMITTED
AFTER 1997 AUTOMATICALLY TO ACQUIRE A FORM OF BRITISH NATIONALITY
PURELY BECAUSE OF THEIR CONNECTION WITH HONG KONG. (SEE MY TELNO 2856 OF 30 NOVEMBER 1984).
4. AGAINST THAT BACKGROUND, THERE ARE TWO POINTS IN THE WHITE PAPER AND THE DRAFT ORDER IN COUNCIL ON WHICH THE CHINESE MAY SEEK CLARIF-
ICATION:
(A) PARAGRAPHS 24 AND 27 OF THE WHITE PAPER (ARTICLE 6(3) AND (4) OF
THE ORDER INCOUNCIL): THE EXTENSION TO INCLUDE GRANDCHILDREN OF
NON-CHINESE FORMER BOTCS OF THE PRINCIPLE THAT NO CHILD BORN ON OR
AFTER JULY 1 1997 TO FORMER BDTCS SHOULD BE STATELESS. THE CHINESE
WILL RECALL THAT OUR APPROACH TO THEM LAST YEAR DEALT ONLY WITH
THE (NEXT WORD UNDERLINED) CHILDREN OF FORMER BDTCS.
CONFIDENTIAL
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