TNAG-1386-FCO40-1834-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-citizenship-1985 — Page 236

GROUPS HAD BEEN QUITE REASONABLY CATERED FOR AND THERE WAS

CERTAINLY NO INTENTION TO LEAVE THESE PEOPLE STATELESO.

DR JESEPH CHENG OF THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY SAID THE NEW PASSPORT WOULD NOT HAVE MUCH PRACTICAL USE. HE SAID UNLESS THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WOULD FIGHT FOR RECOGNITION OF THE PASSPORT

ISSUED BY THE FUTURE SAR GOVERNMENT, A SITUATION WOULD ARISE WHERE BN (0) PASSPORT HOLDERS AND NON-EN(O) PASSPORT HOLDERS WOULD RECEIVE DIFFERENT TREATMENT. HE SAID THE BN(0) PASSPORT WOULD ONLY BE

GOOD FOR TRAVEL.

MEDICAL ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT DR LEE CHUNG-YIN SAID THAT THE FATE OF HK PEOPLE HAD ALREADY BEEN SEALED AND THAT THERE WAS NO POOM FOR NEGOTIATIONS BUT TO ACCEPT THE NEW NATIONALITY STATUS. HE WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER AFTER 1997, HK RESIDENTS COULD BE TREATED AS CITIZENS OF THE SAR QUITE SEPARATE FROM CITIZENS OF

CHINA.

CHAIRMAN OF THE HK BELONGERS ASSOCIATION SZE CHUSIAN SAID THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB AHEAD WAS FOR THE BRITISH AND CHINESE GOVERNMENTS TO PERSUADE OTHER COUNTRIES TO ACCEPT THE PASSPORT.

LAWYER LIU YIU-CHU SAID THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAD TAKEN A

CAUTIOUS STEP IN NOT MENTIONING THE RIGHT OF ABODE IN THE PASSPORT.

HKU LAW LECTURER W.S. CLARKE SAID HK PEOLE MIGHT EVENTUALLY FIND THAT THE BNO AND THE SAR PASSPORTS HAD LITTLE DIFFERENCE.

PRESIDE

PRESIDENT OF THE INDIA ASSOCIATION OF HK SHYAM CHUGH SAID THE INDIAN COMMUNITY WOULD PROBABLY CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR THE RIGHT OF

ABODE IN BRITAIN AFTER 1997.

PRESIDENT OF THE SIKH YOUTH ASSOCIATION GURMUK SINGH DILLON SAIT HK INDIANS SHOULD BE OFFERED A SAFETY NET AFTER 1997 WITH FULL

BRITISH CITIZENSHIP.

IN LONDNON, ANN OWERS OF THE JOINT COUNCIL FOR THE WELFARE OF IMMIGRANTS BELIEVED THE WHITE PAPER HAD DONE NOTHING TO CASE

THE FEELING OF SECURITY ABOUT NATIONALITY STATUS IN HK AND HAD ADDED,

IN SOME CASES, TO THE CONFUSION.

LABOUR PARTY'S SENIOR SPOKESMAN ON IMMIGRATION ALF DUBS STRESSED THE NEED FOR SUFFICIENT TIME TO ELAPSE BETWEEN THE LEGCO DEBATE ON THE DOCUMENT AND THE FIRST DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT.

PRESS COMMENTARIES.

NON-COMMUNIST PAPERS.

FIVE INDEPENDENT PAPERS COMMENTED ON THE WHITE PAPER ON NATIONALITY. MOST OF THEM FELT THAT THE WHITE PAPER CONTAINED NOTHING NEW AND FELT THAT THE VALUE OF THE NOW ON(0) PASSPORT WOULD DEPEND ON ITS ACCEPTABLILITY BY THIRD COUNTRIES.

RESTRICTED

SING