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missionary or not, or the length of your hair if you are a male, although there is nothing against bald headed women!) These are listed in the second column in the attachment. For comparison reasons, I have listed the countries that accord 'Entry Without Visa' privileges to holders of United Kingdom Passport holders in the first column, and the number comes to 104. The main countries where there are differences that are significant to Hong Kong people today are Germany, South Africa Scandinavian Countries, Indonesia, Japan, Spain (and in case any of you have headquarters there to go to even if it was for free! As for the Certificate of Identity, only one country to date, that is Singapore. allows entry without visa, so I didn't even bother to show it in a separate column.
It has been reported by some groups that visited Peking that Hong Kong will issue its own travel documents, which I imagine means some sort of 'Hong Kong Regional Passport' that all residents, as long as they are qualified Hong Kong belongers, can apply for and get. China has also stated the intention to maintain the current freedom of travel. I do not doubt the sincerity of the intention to allow Hong Kong people to travel freely, but we must note that freedom of travel includes other countries letting you in as well as your own country letting you out. An example in mind is that ever now, the constraint on people inside China coming to Hong Kong freely is not really China not allowing them to exit, but more the Hong Kong Government not wanting them to enter.
I personally am not too worried about Hong Kong people being able to possess a valid travel document after 1997, but am concerned about how we can persuade other countries to accord the same level of privileges, that is 'Entry without Visa' privileges to holders of this passport as those currently enjoyed by Hong Kong British Passport Holders. There are only 13 years till 1997, and that is not a very long time to talk to 71 countries one by one, given the normal pace of international negotiations.
The reasons why a country gives entry without visa privileges to holders of a certain travel document are many, but I think many of the 71 countries which do so for the Hong Kong British passport is because of the British link, either as a Commonwealth country, or as a member of the E.E.C. Some of this is also historical. Some of this is because they want Hong Kong people's, or U.K. people's tourism money.
One other factor in visa privileges is reciprocity, for instance, Singaporeans do not need a visa to go to U.K., so British passport holders do not need one to go to Singapore. At the moment, China with very few exceptions such as Romania, Bulgaria etc., does not allow people to enter China without a visa, therefore one can anticipate that if other sovereign states treat the future Hong Kong passport as equivalent to a Chinese passport, then they are unlikely to grant privileges unless China herself reciprocates. On the other hand, if other sovereign states treat the future Hong Kong passport as equivalent to the current British passport, then there should be no problem. Even reciprocity does not always apply, for instance Germans do not need a visa to come to Hong Kong, but Hong Kong British passport holders do. In theory, we could also insist that Germans get a visa first, but because of the importance of German businessmen and German tourists to our economy, we do not wish to do so.
But how, and on what grounds will other countries treat it as the same as a British passport when Britain no longer has any role in Hong Kong? And even if both China and Hong Kong can jointly convince other countries that there are sufficient customs and immigration barriers between China and Hong Kong, just like the way we will have to do if we are to maintain our textile quota and G.A.T.T. privileges, we will need to convince them that the principle of reciprocity should apply between these countries and Hong Kong rather than these countries and China. In any case, if we wish other countries to treat Hong Kong passports as different from Chinese passports, they will need to be satisfied that they really are different, and that only genuine Hong Kong belongers, or perhaps only people born in Hong Kong can get them, and not, for instance, anyone who comes from China or somewhere else a short while ago. They will not just want to know what the rules are, but also see a track record of adhering to these rules, just the same way Hong Kong Government and even trade associations were granted the right to issue certificates of origin and administer textile quotas after a good track record of showing that we are scrupulous in playing the game according to the rules.
Whichever way you look at it, it appears that until we arrive at the time when the post-1997 Hong Kong passport is able to carry its weight in acceptability by third countries, we will need some sort of interim document that is as close as possible in functionality to the current Hong Kong British passport, otherwise a lot of Hong Kong people will be losing current privileges which constitute an important aspect of 'freedom of travel.' This document will need to be very different from the Chinese passport. This is not because the Chinese passport has anything wrong with it as a valid travel document, nor does this have anything to do with the lack of diplomatic relationship by China, for the Chinese passport is perfectly legal as a travel document issued by a sovereign state, and China has just about as many diplomatic relationships with countries worldwide as Britain. The problem is two-fold:
1. Reciprocity
2. The difference in basic political and social systems between China and most countries in the world.
In this context, I draw your attention to a few countries like Romania that Chinese passport holders can go to without visa whereas British passport holders, even U.K. ones cannot. I also draw your attention to the third and fourth column in the table where some countries for all sorts of reasons discriminate against China or Taiwan passports.
When 1997 comes, there will no longer be a 'British Dependant Territory' as far as Hong Kong is concerned, so it is illogical to have a 'Hong Kong British Dependant Territory' passport.
The easiest way out appears to go for what is called a 'British Overseas Citizen passport' which already exists and I understand held by some people in Uganda, India and Pakistan, and which according to my studies is, with a few exceptions, almost enjoying the same privileges as the B.D.T.C. passport. However, how do we reconcile this with the desire by China not to have anything infringing Chinese sovereignty and her laws of not recognizing dual nationality? I think there is a case for a totally new document that retains the privileges of the British passport but without infringing Chinese sovereignty.
Firstly, what does a passport entitle the holder to? It mainly entitles you to right of abode in your home country. It also entitles you to consular protection while you are abroad. It also entitles you to visa privileges as described above.
If we were to get Britain to confer right of abode in Hong Kong after 1997, that doesn't make sense. So we will have to satisfy this entitlement by another method, perhaps the Hong Kong identity card, or by the issue of a Hong Kong passport by the Hong Kong Government.
Regarding consular protection, it would infringe sovereignty if citizens of a special region of China were able to have consular protection from Britain while inside China. So one would have to declare that British consular protection through the new British document does not apply while the holder is inside China. In fact, Hong Kong people would not be losing out at all if this happened, because even today Hong Kong people do not enter China or Taiwan with a British passport, they do it with a Chinese entry permit or Taiwan entry permit, and the British passport or Certificate of Identity is used to leave Hong Kong.
Therefore, I see the best compromise as a British-type travel document that enjoys the same visa privileges currently enjoyed by the B.D.T.C.; enjoys consular protection in third countries other than Chinese Territory, backed up by a separate document by the Hong Kong, or even Chinese Government that guarantees right of abode in Hong Kong. This would not cost the British Government anything. Firstly, real instances of needing consular protection are rare and even if consular protection were needed, the Hong Kong Government could consider reimbursing the expenses, perhaps through T. S. Lo's famous fund. Secondly, the British need not have nightmares of millions of people having right of abode in U.K., and thirdly I do not see how this could infringe Chinese sovereignty.
What do we call it? As any sensible business executive knows, what really matters is what something does, not what it is called, so how about something fairly innocuous like 'British Privileged Person Passport'? As for the time frame, what about for fifty years after 1997 or until such time the Hong Kong passport becomes just as functional? If this were to happen, Hong Kong people would have the best of both worlds, as usual. If you were stranded by war in a third country, you could work out which was nearer to you, the British Embassy or Chinese Embassy and run for it, although I think in the case of Argentina, you would probably be better off going for the latter!
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Page 107 of 233
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missionary or not, or the length of your hair if you are a male, although there is nothing against bald headed women!) These are listed in the second column in the attachment. For comparison reasons, I have listed the countries that accord 'Entry Without Visa' privileges to holders of United Kingdom Passport holders in the first column, and the number comes to 104. The main countries where there are differences that are significant to Hong Kong people today are Germany, South Africa Scandinavian Countries, Indonesia, Japan, Spain (and in case any of you have headquarters there
to go to
even if it was for free! As for the Certificate of Identity, only one country to date, that is Singapore.
allows entry without visa, so I didn't even bother to show it in a separate column.
It has been reported by some groups that visited Peking that Hong Kong will issue its own travel documents, which I imagine means some sort of 'Hong Kong Regional Passport that all residents. as long as they are qualified Hong Kong belongers, can apply for and get. China has also stated the intention to maintain the current freedom of travel. I do not doubt the sincerity of the intention to allow Hong Kong people to travel freely, but we must note that freedom of travel includes other countries letting you in as well as your own country letting you out. An example in mind is that ever now, the constraint on people inside China coming to Hong Kong freely is not really China not allowing them to exit, but more the Hong Kong Government not wanting them to enter.
I personally am not too worried about Hong Kong people being able to posses a valid travel document after 1997, but am concerned about how we can pursuade other countries to accord the same level of privileges, that is 'Entry without Visa' privileges to holders of this passport as those currently enjoyed by Hong Kong British Passport Holders. There are only 13 years till 1997, and that is not a very long time to talk to 71 countries one by one, given the normal pace of international negotiations.
The reasons why a country gives entry without visa privileges to holders of a certain travel document are many, but I think many of the 71 countries which do so for the Hong Kong British passport is because of the British link, either as a Commonwealth country, or as a member of the E.E.C. Some of this is also historical. Some of this is because they want Hong Kong people's, or U.K. people's tourism money.
One other factor in visa privileges is reciprocity, for instance, Singaporeans do not need a visa to go to U.K., so British passport holders do not need one to go to Singapore. At the moment, China with very few exceptions such as Romania, Bulgaria etc, does not allow people to enter China without a visa, therefore one can anticipate that if other sovereign states treat the future Hong Kong passport as equivalent to a Chinese passport, then they are unlikely to grant privileges unless China herself reciprocates. On the other hand, if other sovereign states treat the future Hong Kong passport as equivalent to the current British passport, then there should be no problem. Even reciprocity does not always apply, for instance Germans do not need a visa to come to Hong Kong, but Hong Kong British passport holders do. In theory, we could also insist that Germans get a visa first, but because of the importance of German businessmen and German tourists to our economy, we do not wish to do so.
But how, and on what grounds will other countries treat it as the same as a British passport when Britain no longer has any role in Hong Kong? And even if both China and Hong Kong can jointly convince other countries that there are sufficient customs and immigration barriers between China and Hong Kong, just like the way we will have to do if we are to maintain our textile quota and G.A.T.T. privileges, we will need to convince them that the principle of reciprocity should apply between these countries and Hong Kong rather than these countries and China. In any case, if we wish other countries to treat Hong Kong passports as different from Chinese passports, they will need to be satisfied that they really are different, and that only genuine Hong Kong belongers, or perhaps only people born in Hong Kong can get them, and not, for instance, anyone who come from China or somewhere else a short while ago. They will not just want to know what the rules are. but also see a track record of adhering to these rules, just the same way Hong Kong Government and even trade associations were granted the right to issue certificates of origin and administer textile quotas after a good track record of showing that we are scrupulous in playing the game according to the rules.
Whichever may you look at it, it appears that until we arrive at the time when the post 1997 Hong Kong passport is able to carry its weight in acceptability by third countries, we will need some sort of interim document that is as close as possible in functionality to the current Hong Kong British
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passport, otherwise a lot of Hong Kong people will be losing current privileges which constitutes an important aspect of 'freedom of travel. This document will need to be very different from the Chinese passport. This is not because the Chinese passport has anything wrong with it as a valid travel document, nor does this have anything to do with the lack of diplomatic relationship by China, for the Chinese passport is perfectly legal as a travel document issued by a sovereign state, and China has just about as many diplomatic relationships with countries worldwide as Britain. The problem is two-fold:
1. Reciprocity
The difference in basic political and social systems between China and most countries in the world.
2.
In this context, I draw your attention to a few countries like Romania that Chinese passport holders can go to without visa whereas British passport holders, even U.K. ones cannot. I also draw your attention to the third and fourth column in the table where some countries for all sorts of reasons discriminate against China or Taiwan passports.
When 1997 comes, there will no longer be a 'British Dependant Territory' as far as Hong Kong is concerned, so it is illogical to have a 'Hong Kong British Dependant Territory' passport.
The easiest way out appears to go for what is called a 'British Overseas Citizen passport' which already exists and I understand held by some people in Uganda, India and Pakistan, and which according to my studies is, with a few exceptions, almost enjoying the same privileges as the B.D.T.C. passport. However, how do we reconcile this with the desire by China not to have anything infringing Chinese sovereignty and her laws of not recognizing dual nationality? I think there is a case for a totally new document that retains the privileges of the British passport but without infringing Chinese sovereignty.
Firstly, what does a passport entitle the holder to? It mainly entitles you to right of abode in your home country. It also entitles you to consular protection while you are abroad. It also entitles you to visa privileges as described above.
If we were to get Britain to confer right of abode in Hong Kong after 1997, that doesn't make sense. So we will have to satisfy this entitlement by another method, perhaps the Hong Kong identity card, or by the issue of a Hong Kong passport by the Hong Kong Government.
Regarding consular protection, it would infringe sovereignty if citizens of a special region of China were able to have consular protection from Britain while inside China. So one would have to declare that British consular protection through the new British document does not apply while the holder is inside China. In fact Hong Kong people would not be losing out at all if this happened, because even today Hong Kong people do not enter China or Taiwan with a British passport, they do it with a Chinese entry permit or Taiwan entry permit, and the British passport or Certificate of Identity is used to leave Hong Kong.
Therefore, I see the best compromise as a British-type travel document that enjoys the same visa privileges currently enjoyed by the B.D.T.C.; enjoys consular protection in third countries other than Chinese Territory, backed up by a separate document by the Hong Kong, or even Chinese Government that guarantees right of abode in Hong Kong. This would not cost the British Government anything. Firstly real instances of needing consular protection are rare and even if consular protection were needed, the Hong Kong Government could consider reimbursing the expenses, perhaps through T. S. Lo's famous fund. Secondly the British need not have nightmares of millions of people having right of abode in U.K., and thirdly I do not see how this could infringe Chinese sovereignty.
What do we call it? As any sensible business executive knows, what really matters is what something does, not what it is called, so how about something fairly innocuous like British Privileged Person Passport"? As for the time frame, what about for fifty years after 1997 or until such time the Hong Kong passport becomes just as functional? If this were to happen, Hong Kong people would have the best of both worlds, as usual. If you were stranded by war in a third country, you could work out which was nearer to you, the British Embassy or Chinese Embassy and run for it, although I think in the case of Argentina, you would probably be better off going for the latter!
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