TNAG-2628-FCO40-3819-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-British-National-(Overseas)-1992 — Page 104

6 February 1992

Lord Geddes

House of Lords

LONDON

SW1

HONG KONG: LORD WYATT ́S UNSTARRED QUESTION 29 JANUARY

In the course of my response to Lord Wyatt's unstarred question on 29 January I said that I would write to you on the points that you had raised concerning

the attitude of the People's Republic to British Nationals

INCS) (Overseas) citizens, and why the Basic Law made no

reference to either BDTCs or BN (0)s and their passports

(official report columns 1398 and 1410).

First if I may clarify one point in your question; it is not so much a matter of whether holders of the

BN (0) passports/will be "similarly" recognised by the People's Republic but, rather, that JD 234 implicitly refers to holders of BN (0) passports. As you know, BN(0) status was created by the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 When the Joint Declaration was signed in 1984 that status was as yet unnamed, and hence the United Kingdom Memorandum (JD 226) simply referred to "an appropriate status" to replace BDTC status and enable former BDTCs to continue to use, British passports. It is

this unnamed status later defined as British National

Winch

be came

(Overseas) to which the Chinese Memorandum is referring