CONFIDENTIAL
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THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN
CLOSED UNDER
FOI EXEMPTION NO....27(1)
We
8. The passport duly came into existence on 1 July 1987. fully expect people holding such passports to be able to travel as widely and as freely as they did using BDTC passports. There have been occasional hiccups in certain foreign countries, but these have largely been due to bureaucratic confusion and have been smoothed
over. We will continue to monitor the situation as the passport
becomes more widely used.
9.
10.
In Hong Kong there is naturally great interest in the international acceptability of the new passport. Opinion there has
tended to associate acceptability with public statements of support. Following initial problems with the Thai authorities the proportion
of people applying for BN (0) passports against those applying for BDTC passports fell rapidly from about 45% of the total in July 1987 to about 12% of applications by mid-August 1987. Latest
figures show an 18% preference for BN (0) passports. As people begin to travel more widely on the BN (O) passport, we hope that confidence
in the document will pick up.
NEW ID CARDS AND "RIGHT OF ABODE" LEGISLATION
11. We agreed in the Joint Liaison Group the wording of a "right of abode endorsement" to be entered in BN (0) passports (and Hong Kong Government issued "Certificates of Identity for visa purposes")
confirming the holder's right of abode in Hong Kong (and hence returnability there) before and after 1997. As part of our
agreement with the Chinese on this, the Hong Kong Government introduced legislative changes on 1 July 1987 to bring "right of abode" into Hong Kong law and confer it on all BDTCs and people
CONFIDENTIAL
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