TNAG-2943-FCO40-4219-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-ethnic-minorities-1993 — Page 98

M

布政司署

香港下亞

畢道

SBCR 9/2091/93

本署檔號 OUR REF:

來函檔號 YQUR REF:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

(Attn: Deborah Barnes Jones)

Dear

Debevah

RESTRICTED

HID 340

340/6

RECEIVED IND

13SEP 1993

DESK OFFICE!

INDEA

Hong Kong BOCS Eurasiads

138

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

17 August 1993

A number of minor issues are appearing on the above two groups, which do not necessarily overlap. We have had one or two enquiries on BOC anomalies. And the Welfare League, which represents Eurasians' interests, has approached me informally, looking as if they may lobby. I need to run some of the problems I foresee past you/the Home Office for further consideration before they emerge. The Home Secretary's retrieval of the narrow fallback assurance has exacerbated some of them. The issue may only involve a small number of people, but no smaller than the wives and widows of ex-servicemen; and it has the seeds of much greater trouble for you (and us).

Essentially the starting question is how are you actually going to work out eligibility for BOC passports. The trickiest sub-question is how are you going to deny someone who claims a BOC fuu? by refusal to accept Chinese citizenship, if they are indeed only 10600

slightly Chinese. Some indication of how both BOCs and more generally those with part-British blood/connections were dealt with in this respect at the end of other colonies could be relevant.

?

The problem has started to arise out of the BN (0) programme. Some people who are part Chinese and part Indian/Pakistani, in the first age batch, for example see themselves as having effectively to now decide whether to go for

(a)

BN(0), and thus risk losing the British consular protection and 2 generation rights post-97;

(b) BOC, and thus distance themselves from other HK

citizens with uncertain effect on their SARG rights (passport, Government promotion) post 97.

Although our line can be that taking the BN (0) now does not have any future effect on qualification for Chinese/SAR or BOC status (assuming, in the latter case, renunciation of BN (0) before 1997),

this looks strange, and people are bound to assume you will take into account having held a BN (0) when considering qualification for BOC. They will therefore go for (b). They will also see the Home Secretary's "solely British" narrowing of worst-case assurance as effectively restricting future possible entry to BOCs and excluding BN (0)'s.

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On the BOCship itself, we are then faced with questions such as Why can they not apply for BOC now and be sure before 1997? Why should they wait until the 'automatic' switch from BDTC to BOC on 1 July 1997? Should we not be prepared to give them BOC's now or at least make arrangements for the British Consulate-General to register them before 1997?

N

It does seem in this context that waiting for a July 1997 start may be a bit rigid and possibly not in your interests, but there may be no room to move legally. But you may wish to consider, on behalf of those who have to travel in July 1997, for example,