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did not consider it right to accede to the request for British
citizenship for ethnic minority BDTCs. Ministers took the view that
the provisions of the Joint Declaration and the proposed Order in
Council met fully the concern of this community to have both
recognised nationality status and a secure right of abode in Hong
Kong, Where they want to continue to
to live. However, Ministers, in
recognising the concern felt among this community in Hong Kong,
stated in Parliament that they would consider it an obligation upon
any future government to treat with very considerable and particular
sympathy the case for admission to the United Kingdom of any
individual British national who, against all expectations, came
under pressure to leave Hong Kong.
16.
Once the Order had been made Her Majesty's Government
initiated in September 1986 an extensive diplomatic exercise to
explain to other countries the new status and the passport that goes
with it. Parliament will be informed of the results of the exercise
in due course. The response
SO far has been favourable, and the
Government are confident that
confident that the new status will receive widespread
international acceptance.
17.
On 11 April 1986, Memoranda were exchanged between the
British Embassy in Peking and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs recording the agreement reached on the terms of a right of
abode endorsement to be entered in the passports of British
Nationals (Overseas). This endorsement will guarantee the holder's
right to return to Hong Kong and thus make the British National
(Overseas) Passport more readily acceptable for international travel
before and after 1997.
(e)
Drafting of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region
18.
Under paragraph 3 (12) of the Joint Declaration the policies
of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong, which are set
out in paragraph 3 of the Joint Declaration, and the elaboration of
them in Annex I
the Joint Declaration are to be stipulated in a
Basic Law of
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the
Republic of China by the Chinese National People's
People's
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