[tinybear]

Tsk, tsk, obviously the two of you know very little of what was happening in Beijing and Hong Kong in the run up to the Sino-British negotiations for the handover of Hong Kong. The story starts in 1979 when Hong Kong Governor Sir Murray Maclehose visited Beijing to see Deng Hsiao Ping, hina's 'paramount leader'. The purpose of the visit was officially just a courtesy call. We now know that Sir Murray was there to talk about Hong Kong's future. The lease of the New Territories was about to expire. It was a problem which needed to be raised and addressed. Deng told him in no uncertain terms that China would resume administration of HK in 1997, but that HK would be granted special freedoms and privileges to preserve its capitalist way of life and that HK's investors should put their minds at ease. Sir Murray's proposal that the lease be extended was flatly turned down. Deng said it was non-negotiable. Sir Murray came back to HK and told the people a half-truth. He said that Deng has advised investors in HK to put their minds at ease.

Meanwhile, he went to Whitehall with the bad news and discussed with the Foreign Office what they should do with the 3 million odd British subjects who held British Dependent Territory passports but had not applied for right of abode in Britain. They decided to plug all legal loopholes and effectively slam the gates shut on their faces. In 1981, the British Nationality Act was tabled at the British Parliament. Some Hong Kong people cried foul and said that the Act was aimed at depriving all Hong Kong British subjects of their right to apply to be 'full' British citizens, carrying with it the right of abode. Britain strongly denied this. A propaganda campaign was then started to allay fears. It's all aimed at the Africans and the West Indians whose countries have since acquired independence and have conferred citizenship on these former British subjects, it was said. Hong Kong swallowed it hook, line and sinker. In 1982, Maggie Thatcher went to Beijing for formal negotiations with Beijing over HK's future. The timing of the visit was significant. The Act had just been passed. 3 million odd British subjects were in limbo, holding British 'passports' which were mere travel documents, no better than Mickey Mouse passes issued by Disneyland.