1984]
NATIONALITY LAW OF THE PRO
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By the same token, if a Chinese citizen had become stateless dur- ing or prior to the "silent period,” which is unlikely," he remains state- less under the new law. The summary procedures, however, enable this stateless person to apply for restoration of his PRC nationality.
Regarding the effect of pre-PRC laws, article 17 of the 1980 Na- tionality Law confirms that the PRC recognizes and abides by the legal consequences of the 1909, 1914 and 1929 nationality laws;* Chinese nationality acquired or lost under the previous laws remains valid and is recognized under the 1980 law." Article 17 also affirms the contin- ued relevance of China's bilateral treaties and ad hoc solutions for dual or other nationality problems. Moreover, the 1980 law does not affect the "vested rights" of individuals in Chinese nationality matters" or nationality problems handled on an ad hoc diplomatic or administra- tive basis. Since the 1980 law takes effect from the "day of promulga. tion," it does not have retroactive application to the acquisition or loss of Chinese nationality which occurred prior to 1949 or during the "silent period." Hence, nationality acquired or lost during those peri- ods pursuant to the prior laws continues to be valid. This interpreta- tion is based on the clear language of the law, and the general rule of statutory interpretation that a substantive law does not have retroac- tive effect unless otherwise expressly stipulated. This interpretation is also the shared opinion of commentators of the PRC."
The PRC Government, rather than minutely detailing the effect of
83. See 1980 Nationality Law, arts. 4, 6 & 9.
84. Article 17 of the 1980 Nationality Law states: “The nationality status of persons who have acquired or lost Chinese nationality before the promulgation of this law re- mains valid."
85. See id.
86. In the view of at least one PRC commentator, from the establishment of the PRC up to the present, most of the nationality problems have been resolved (art. 17 of the 1980 law recognizes the historically resolved dual nationality problems). See G. ZxOU. Guojira (International Law) 273 (1981).
87. Article 18 of the 1980 Nationality Law states: "This law comes into force from the day of promulgation."
88. But see Ginsburgs, supra note 1, at 462. Ginsburgs' interpretation that article 9 is retroactive with respect to persons who became dual nationals before 1980, particularly including the "silent period," is an affront to the law's express recognition of nationality acquired or lost before the law came into force. This interpretation may be due to his confusion between the delineation of nonrecognition of dual nationality as expressed in article 3 and the validity of dual nationality under each country's law. For the delinea- tion between the two, see supra note 81 and accompanying text. Article 9 of China's Nationality Law is simply a unilateral measure to reduce future dual nationality in ac- cordance with the doctrine stated in article 3.
89. The purpose of the 1980 law is to insure continuity of law. not to uproot or unset- tle the results of the previous three laws, nor to derogate the bilateral treaties on dual nationality. See G. ZнOV, supra note 86; see also Zhang & Lu, supra note 1.
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