JALAPA
ник
HKK 04014
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
19 FEB 1986
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
REGISTRY
PA
Action Taken
PS/Mr Renton
HONG KONG AGREEMENT:
CONFIDENTIAL
FILE
FROM: A C GALSWORTHY, HKD
DATE: 19 February 1986
NATIONALITY
1.
дзя
Mr Renton enquired on the attached copy of FCO telno 291 to Hong Kong about the significance of the figures
therein.
265
2.
numbered
The figures arise from the meeting held between Hong
In Kong Government officials and Home Office two weeks ago. this it emerged that while the ethnic minority BDTCS at
present
some 11,000, there were up to 65,000
non-Chinese nationals of other states at present permanently
resident in
These Hong Kong.
people would probably entitled to apply for BDTC status if they chose by virtue of
residence in Hong Kong.
If the decision were taken to
be
extend British citizenship to the ethnic minorities there is
thus
people could bring themselves
a
danger that these
within the fence in such a way as to
such a way as to turn them into British citizens in 1997. This telegram is part of an effort to out sort who exactly these 65,000 people are. It appears that
some of them at least are already British citizens.
3.
If we were to decide to make the ethnic minorities
British citizens in 1997,
this one way of dealing with problem would be to cast the law in such a way that it would refer only to those who were BDTCs now, cutting out anybody who from the date of the legislation onwards voluntarily
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.