22-JAN-1991 14:48
DIRECTOR OF ADM.
852 877 0802
P.34
1984)
NATIONALITY LAW OF THE PRC
311
and continued residence in China may be contrary to the national in- terest of China. Therefore, China may wish to exercise jurisdiction over him without his other national government's interference. On the con- trary, when a dual national settles abroad he is allowed to automati- cally forfeit his Chinese nationality. As a practical matter, China is powerless to exercise its jurisdiction over the dual national who settles abroad.
When duality occurs as a consequence of the derivative acquisition of a foreign nationality, the problem is ephemeral. The dual nationality of Chinese women resulting from China's rejection of the derivative doctrine will cease to be a problem as more countries adopt more egali- tarian policies.1** In the interim, however, the principles of equality of the sexes and freedom to choose one's nationality appear to at least balance the Government's opposition to dual nationality.
Dual nationality involving Huachiaos may cause foreign relations conflicts for China only where the wife in a mixed Chinese/foreign marriage gives birth to a child in China. In this situation the child of an overseas Chinese citizen settled abroad acquires dual nationality at birth. Perhaps the drafters of the law compromised once again and be- stowed Chinese nationality because of the child's close ties with China in terms of jus sanguinis and jus soli. A fair assessment of the law's ability to reduce—if not completely eliminate-the incidence of dual nationality must be presented in the context of the competing nation. ality laws. The drafters of the 1980 Nationality Law had to skillfully balance the sometimes conflicting policy goals and national interests of China. Responsibility for the final and complete settlement of the dual nationality problem does not lie with China alone. Rather, the ultimate solution can only be reached through international efforts to resolve the conflict of nationality laws among countries-by multilateral cove- nants and bilateral international agreements-and through the consci- entious drafting of nationality laws of individual states.
In the meantime, "China does not recognize [the] dual nationality of any Chinese national," as declared unequivocally in article 3 of the Nationality Law. Therefore, regardless of how dual nationality occurs, and despite the validity and effectiveness of the foreign nationality under the law of the foreign states, an individual is simply considered a Chinese national in the eyes of all laws of the PRC. Thus, an individ- ual can be found guilty of treason (a "counter-revolutionary" offense) under the Chinese Criminal Code, even though his "real and effective nationality" in terms of subjective emotional allegiance and factual ties is connected solely to the foreign state. The same individual may also
106. For documents supporting this policy, see supra note 27.
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