HK people should choose between China and foreign countries: Regina Ip

Lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee urged the Central government to ban Hong Kong people from having dual citizenship. 

Writing in a local newspaper, Ip said that the Beijing officials should set a deadline for locals to decide whether to keep their foreign citizenship. 

She added that those who left the city are “giving up on Hong Kong”, and should choose between China and the foreign country. 

“The Chinese government adopted a “one eye open, one eye closed” approach (to dual citizenship),” expressed Ip. 

She said according to Article 9 of Chinese Nationality Laws, Chinese citizens who have other nationalities lose their right of abode and the ability to vote in elections. The law should apply to Hong Kong, after which those with double nationalities will lose the right to hold a Hong Kong passport. 

Ip also blamed the British government for offering a pathway for British National (Overseas) passport holders to get British citizenship. 

“The new route to citizenship offered by the British government is not only a slap in the face of the Chinese authorities for enacting a national security law but also fraught with adverse implications.”