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Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said today if anyone had unilaterally deviated from the consensus over the issue of Hongkongers holding British National (Overseas) passports, it would be a “matter of course for the other party to take action.
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But the Hong Kong leader said she was not aware of any specific government plans putting into motion, nor did the Executive Council discussed over it.
Her comments were made after pro-establishment heavyweight Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said the Hong Kong government should adopt China’s nationality law, banning dual nationality.
“The issue of nationality is a sensitive matter, and many citizens were concerned about the discussion before the [1997] handover,” Lam told a press conference. “That’s why, because of historical reasons, the Chinese and British governments had a consensus on how to handle the British National (Overseas) passport.”
The UK had previously created a new route to citizenship for locals eligible for British National (Overseas) status, allowing them to remain in the UK for a longer period, and then eventually become full British citizens.
Ip, the former security chief has called on Beijing to effectively forbid obtaining dual nationality by revoking the right to live and vote in the city for any resident who acquired foreign citizenship.
“If people are willing to spend six years time in a foreign country as part of the process of acquiring residency or citizenship in the UK, it proves they are unwilling to be Chinese, and that is why they should not be allowed dual citizenship,” stressed Ip.
