mainly Indians would not. The JCWI's objective therefore was to secure British citizen-
ship for the ethnic minority BDTCs in Hong Kong, rather than BN (0) status. They
considered it fundamental importance that people should have a nationality which gave
them the security of the right to live in the place they called home. A nationality
status which did not carry with it that right was inadequate. In support of their
argument they
citet
the recent Legco debate, in which a number of members
supported the request by the ethnic minority groups, in particular the Council of Hong
Kong Indian Associations, for special treatment for those who would not be regarded as
Chinese nationals and who had no other form of nationality but BDTC status.
5.
In reply it was pointed out that the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong would have
a home there as a right. This was guaranteed under Annex X1 of the Agreement. The
Agreement was registered with the United Nations as a legally binding international
agreement, and had been accepted as such by the Chinese. There was no reason to think
that the Chinese would not honour the Agreement in full. Furthermore, the reaction of
the 34 million Chinese BDTCs in Hong Kong the Legco proposals were not known. The fact
Chinese ButiCS that Legco supported the Indian Associations request did not mean that they would not
subsequently seek the same treatment for themselves. This of course would not be
possible.
to
Was
6.
The JCWI accepted the point, but reiterated their basic concern, which went
wider than Hong Kong, over the problem of alien residents given the right to live by the
country of which they were not citizens where their country of origin would not itself
give them such a right. This was a long standing objection of theirs. They also pointed
out that the right of abode agreement did not appear to cover children born outside
Hong Kong to non-Chinese with the right of abode in Hong Kong. There was nothing in
the Agreement to suggest that such children would be allowed back into Hong Kong with
their parents. We agreed to look into this point.
PASSPORTS
7.
Another of the JCWI's major concerns was that the BN(0) passports should be an
acceptable travel document. To this end they had recommended that the passports should
be endorsed with a clear statement of the holder's right of abode in, and therefore
returnability to Hong Kong.
2
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