TNAG-1559-FCO40-2123-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 187

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HONG KONG: NOTE OF MEETING WITH JCWI IN ROOM 1418 ON 17 DECEMBER 1985

Present:

J Lyon

Ms F Mctaggart)

Ms A Owers

JCWI

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J Powell

D McDonough

FCO

B4 Division

ник

B2 Division

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

J Emery

B4 Division

2 1 JAN 1986

MEG:STAY

Non Taken

INTRODUCTION

1.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the two JCWI publications criticising the nationality provisions of the Sino-British Agreement and the draft Order in Council, namely a Question of Belonging and Passports to Somewhere?

2.

In his opening remarks Mr Lyon set the scene by explaining that the discussion had to be rooted in the reality of Hong Kong; that is to say, the position as it is, and not what ideally others would like it to be. The Sino-British Agreement had been accepted by all parties including Parliament. The Hong Kong Act, amongst other things, set out the broad parameters of the nationality provisions of the Agreement within which

the Order in Council would have to fit. The draft Order in Council was consistent with

the Agreement and the Hong Kong Act. Room for manoeuvre was therefore limited. Never-

theless, the Order had been produced in draft form in order that interested parties should have an opportunity to comment on it, and the Government had undertaken to consider points made. Mr Lyon also explained that events had moved on somewhat since the

publication of the JCWI Reports

3.

The JCWI explained that the general feeling in Hong Kong was that the people of Hong Kong wanted reassurances that did not mislead people into thinking that they were not going to be part of China. Ideally the JCWI would have wished to visit Hong Kong and Canvass opinion before the Hong Kong Act had been passed, so that the opportunity might have been taken, if appropriate, to make substantive amendments to the BNA 1981 outside the scope of the Order. They accepted that this was not now possible.

NON-ETHNIC CHINESE BDTCS: BN(0) STATUS

JCWI's main concern was for those BDTCs in Hong Kong who have no other form of nationality. Ethnic-Chinese BDTCs would have Chinese nationality, but non-ethnic Chinese

4.