TNAG-2715-FCO40-3921-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 105

ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. In doing so, they took into

account the points made during Mr Goodlad's evidence to the

Committee on 9 July. They have concluded that there are no

grounds for changing the Government's position. Mr Wardle put the Government's position on record in the House of Commons on

26 July. On 9 July he repeated in the House of Commons the

Government's assurance that if members of the ethnic minorities

with solely British nationality came under pressure to leave

Hong Kong and had nowhere else to go, the Government of the day

would be expected to consider with particular sympathy their

case for admission to the United Kingdom.

12.

the Hong

This comes

As anticipated in our Memorandum (paragraph 43) the

Government introduced in June an Order in Council:

Kong (British Nationality) (Amendment) Order 1993.

into force on 21 July 1993 and lays down a phased registration

programme (by age groups) for the acquisition of the status of British National (Overseas) (BNO). (This is the form of British nationality available to Hong Kong BDTCs once Hong Kong ceases

to be a Dependent Territory). The Order was introduced to

enable the Hong Kong Government to process all applications for the new status before their power to do so ceases on 1 July

1997. All British Dependent Territory Citizens (about 3.6

million) are eligible to become BNOs. Only 600,000 people now hold BNO passports.

13. In response to concerns in Hong Kong that the surrender of the familiar BDTC passports by those receiving passports for the new BNO status might be wrongly interpreted as the premature deprivation of BDTC status, the Home Secretary has agreed that Hong Kong citizens may retain their BDTC passports on

registration as BNOs.

fac.enq.PR

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