TNAG-1564-FCO40-2129-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 126

of former Hong Kong BDTCS, if born stateless, will be entitled to register

as British Overseas citizens. This is parallel to provisions in the British Nationality Act 1981 for British Citizens and BDTCS.

4. There are now calls for non-ethnic Chinese BDTCS to be granted British citizenship, with its concomitant right of abode in the United Kingdom rather than the status of BN(0) or British Overseas citizen; but under the Sino-British agreement such people and their children will continue to have the right of abode in Hong Kong after 1997 and the Order makes sure that none of them will

be stateless. These arrangements safeguard the interests of BDTCs who are not of Chinese ethnicity and, their dependants up to about the middle of the next century by which time the link with Britain will be more than tenuous and many years will have passed during which someone of Indian descent living in Hong Kong will have been able to apply for Chinese citizenship if he so wishes. There is of course no question of any being compelled to become a Chinese National and in the unlikely event of any British Nationals being forced to leave Hong Kong and having nowhere to go we have made it clear that we would expect the Government of the day to consider sympathetically whether to admit them on a case by case basis in the light of the particular circumstances.

5. Hong Kong BDTCS of whatever ethnic origin do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom, and under the Hong Kong Act BN (0) status does not carry with it the right of abode here. The Council of Hong Kong Indian Associations and those lobbying for those of Indian extraction say that the latter have no intention of coming to the United Kingdom and intend to remain in Hong Kong but granting their claim would not only suggest that we had little faith in the undertakings given by the Chinese Government and in the security of the arrangements after 1997. It may well also lead to claims for similar treatment from the 34 million other Hong Kong BDTCS.

6. The Indian community say they do not want to come to Britain. They say that what they want is the right of abode in Hong Kong, but that they will be dependent for it on the goodwill of the Chinese Government who, if they do not become Chinese Nationals will not have any real responsibility for them. As a result they ask for British citizenship. But if we did give them British Citizenship that would not give the right of abode in Hong Kong after 1997. It is not within the British Government's power to grant such a right. It is however, guaranteed to them by the Joint Declaration.

/cont...