Britain’s ‘disgraceful’ pre-handover efforts to deny nationality to Hongkongers revealed in declassified cabinet files
Officials repeatedly pressured Portugal not to grant rights to Macau residents to prevent Hongkongers from asking for similar treatment
Britain repeatedly put pressure on Portugal not to grant nationality to its colonial residents in Macau to prevent Hongkongers asking for the same treatment ahead of the two cities’ return to Chinese rule, recently declassified documents have revealed.
Tensions between the countries in 1985 – as Portugal prepared to join the European Community, now the European Union – came to light via British cabinet files from the National Archives in London, which were made available in July.
Activists in Hong Kong said the documents once again highlighted how “disgraceful” Britain had been in its treatment of the colony’s citizens in the period leading up to the 1997 handover.
London had refused to confer residency rights on all but 50,000 Hongkongers and their families, granting others only the British National (Overseas) passport, which did not come with the right of abode.
BN(O) passport holders have the right to land in Britain and enjoy a six-month stay as a visitor. They may be qualified to register to vote in parliamentary and local government elections if they fulfil certain requirements and can receive consular assistance from Britain outside Hong Kong.
