TNAG-1850-FCO40-2625-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 165

Will consider Committee's recommendations very

carefully.

(e) Non-Chinese ethnic minorities?

Government have already given particular assurances to this group, should they come under pressure to leave Hong Kong in future. No intention of back tracking on

that.

(£)

Special provision also already made for ethnic minorities to retain British nationality (BOC) for two generations beyond 1997 if otherwise stateless.

Crown servants

Is Section 4(5) of BNA working properly? successful applications?

Why so few

It was made clear when the Bill was going through Parliament that this section would be used sparingly and that citizenship would be granted only where

particularly deserving service had been rendered to the

Crown.

2ND nime

APPLICA??

I am aware of criticism in Hong Kong and elsewhere that very few civil servants have been granted citizenship under Section 4(5). This is of course a matter for the

Home Secretary's discretion. It is still early days yet. Numbers of successful applications may well rise.

The Home Secretary always takes the views of the Governor of Hong Kong into account in considering applications from Hong Kong under Section 4(5). The fact that few such applications from civil servants have been granted should not be taken as an indication of the Governor's views one way or another.

ALAAAT

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