DRAFT LETTER FROM FRANCIS MAUDE MP TO ALL CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
HONG KONG
One or two recent newspaper reports have put a misleading gloss on recent statements made in China about Hong Kong and have concluded - wrongly that this somehow undermines the Government's Nationality Scheme. Characteristically, Kaufman and his colleages have added to the muddle.
The position is this. Chinese nationality law does not recognise dual nationality. You are either a Chinese citizen or the citizen of a foreign country. The Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong provides for a small number of top jobs in the public service ("Heads of major Government departments
and Deputy Heads of some of those departments") to be reserved for Chinese nationals after the territory reverts to China.
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The draft Basic Law, published in February 1989, provides further elaboration. It stipulates that the Chief
Executive, the two top judges, the President of the Legislative Council and members of ExCo should be Chinese nationals. What has now been reported in the press is that China is beginning to define the public service posts involved. It seems likely that a total of around 50 jobs in government and administration would be reserved for Chinese nationals. This is of course a very small number indeed, compared with the 50,000 assurances that we intend to offer under our nationality package. The Chinese have also apparently added a stipulation that only 15% of the SAR legislature may be foreign nationals. This seems to us unnecessarily restrictive and to create practical problems of implementation. It is something we
shall want to raise with them.
As for consular protection, full British citizens anywhere in the world are entitled to consular protection, unless they are dual nationals in the country of thir second nationality. Hong Kong holders of British Dependent Territories Citizens passports (which carry no right of abode here) are in a different position. After 1997 they will be eligible to hold a British National (Overseas) passport but will be considered by China to be Chinese nationals. The Chinese Memorandum associated with the Joint Declaration states that such people will not be entitled to British consular protection in Hong Kong and China, although they will have this right
BW1AAC
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