TNAG-1392-FCO40-1864-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-for-meetings-and-visits-1985 — Page 53

GRS 450

CONFIDENTIAL

FM PEKING

TO PRIORITY FCO

CONFIDENTIAL

Action

Nationality file.

TOP COPY

HKK

OTO/15.

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

10 OCT 1985

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

REGISTRY

Action Take.

104

TELNO 1462

OF 10074OZ OCTOBER 85

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG

-101

102

103

на

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 THOUAZQSGZLGWJXLFRAISE AT AL 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 BDTCS 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