Canadian, British and U.S. authorities have warned that Hong Kong authorities are forcing a dual citizen to choose between Chinese and other nationalities for the first Time in decades, Canadian authorities said. AFP reported that Canada‘s foreign affairs department said on Jan. 2 that a person with Canadian and Chinese citizenship was asked by authorities to make a declaration of citizenship on Jan. 18 after being jailed in Hong Kong.
A spokesman for Global Affairs Canada told AFP: “We are aware of more such incidents involving dual nationality of other countries.
The news sent diplomats scrambling to gather information, as it could affect hundreds of thousands of dual nationals living in and traveling to Hong Kong for business.
Under Chinese law, dual nationality is not legally recognized in Hong Kong, and authorities may deny consular access to those with Hong Kong or Chinese passports.
But diplomats say these rules have never been enforced in practice before, and officials have rarely had trouble visiting detainees with dual nationality.
The norms on dual nationality began to change after repeated tit-for-tat with the West as Beijing authorities cracked down on protests in Hong Kong after several large and often violent outbreaks of pro-democracy protests in 2019.
A U.S. official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the U.S. is aware of more such cases than this one made public by Canada.
A spokesman for the British consulate said the U.K. had sought a response from Hong Kong authorities “after hearing that they might cancel our consular access to dual nationality prisoners and prevent us from providing the support we have provided since 1997.
Recent Comments