TNAG-2371-FCO40-3446-Hong-Kong-nationality-UK-passport-scheme-British-Nationalit-1991 — Page 55

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DIRECTOR OF ADM.

1984)

NATIONALITY LAW OF THE PRC

313

independent judiciary--the so-called "one country, two systems" formula.111

In the negotiations preceding the Declaration, the nationality sta- tus of the five million Chinese residing in Hong Kong was a key and emotive issue. This question has been clouded by the fact that the ter- ritory has been held de jure and de facto by Britain for over a century, even while the PRC claimed to be its supreme sovereign. Further, until 1980, the PRC did not have a formal nationality law with a clear definition of Chinese nationality. In light of the potential conflicts be- tween British and Chinese nationality laws, and the recently negoti- ated Joint Declaration which purports to deal with such issues, it will be fruitful to discuss the nationality status of Hong Kong Chinese after 1997. This section will review the historical Chinese and British posi- tions on this issue, the mutual understanding contained in the memo- randa associated with the Joint Declaration, and some of the implica. tions of the Declaration on the nationality status, right to travel and international protection for the Chinese residents of Hong Kong.

A. British Laws

The population of Hong Kong is 5.3 million; ninety-eight percent of the people are ethnic Chinese; three million of them were born in the colony." British law has consistently treated all residents at the

111. Joint Declaration, infra app. 1, annex I, art. III.

112. For the legal status of Hong Kong, see generally Dicks, Treaty Grant, Usage or Sufferance? Some Legal Aspects of the Status of Hong Kong, 95 China Q. 427 (1983); Note, The Legal Implications of the Sino-British Treaties Regarding Hong Kong, 4 Lot. LA INT'L & COMP. L.J. 111 (1981). For the Chinese claim, see Zhao, Cong Guojifa Kan Xianggang Wenti (Legal Status of Hong Kong in International Law), Faxuzzazhi No. 2, at 9 (1984),

113. See Hong Kong 1984: A Review or 1983 235-36 (1984) (published by the Gov. ernment Publication Centre in Hong Kong). A description of Hong Kong and the British takeover follows:

Hong Kong consists not only of the island, but includes Kowloon Peninsula, Stonecutters Island and the New Territories. Hong Kong Island, with an area of twenty-nine square miles, was ceded to the British in 1842, under the provisions of the Treaty of Nanking. Following this treaty, conflicts continued between the British and Chinese. In 1860, the British, at the Convention of Peking, took con- trol of both Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island. China's vulnerability was apparent once again when it was defeated by Japan in 1895. The British “recognized that an extension of Hong Kong territory (was) necessary for the proper defense and protection of the Colony.” Consequently, under the terms of the 1898 Convention of Peking, Britain was able to obtain a ninety-nine year lease for the New Territories, located on the mainland north of Kowloon. As Norman Miners noted, "These New Territories increased the area of the colony from 43 to 400 square miles."

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