TNAG-2939-FCO40-4215-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-ethnic-minorities-1993 — Page 35

BACKGROUND

HUMAN RIGHTS

1.

Christine Loh's note (attached) raises the question of

Chinese accession to the International Convention on Civil and

Political Rights (ICCPR). She argues that if China did not accede to the Convention, the undertaking in the Joint

Declaration that it should continue to be in force for Hong

Kong after 1997 could not be guaranteed. The technical details of a method for accession in respect of the Hong Kong

Special Administrative Region alone are being explored with

the Chinese. When the ICCPR was raised with China in the

Troiką, it was on general Human Rights terms, without

reference to Hong Kong.

2.

Christine Loh and Emily Lau spoke at the launch on 22 January of the Article XIX report Urgent Business: Hong Kong,

Freedom of Expression and 1997. The article in question is

Article 19 of the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights.

This report calls among other things for amendment to the Basic Law, amendment to Hong Kong Ordinances, which it claims

are incompatible with the Bill of Rights, a Freedom of

Information Bill and the establishment of a Human Rights

Commission. To date this launch has not generated much press

interest in the UK.

NATIONALITY ISSUES

British Nationality Scheme

3. Established by the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act

1990 to give British citizenship to 50,000 key people in the private and public sectors in Hong Kong. The pace of registration under the scheme was initially slow because all applications had to be processed and potentially successful

applicants interviewed before registration could start. Registration now on target. 20,980 Principal Beneficiaries