HONGKONG people have been warned that they face losing British consular protection if the Government cannot carry out a phased replacement of British Dependent Territory Citizen (BDTC) passports by British National Overseas (BNO) passports before 1997.
Deputy director of the Immigration Department, Mr John Yeung Hin-chung, said yesterday that if all three million people eligible for BNO passports applied in 1996, it would be impossible for the authorities to process the applications before 1997.
''Those who are lucky will get the passports but those who are unlucky will have to go without,'' Mr Yeung said.
The Government is facing strong opposition in the Legislative Council to its programme forcing people to switch their BDTC passports for BNO passports in phases over the next four years.
The BNO passport was introduced in 1987 to replace the BDTC passport, which will expire in 1997. BNO holders are entitled to the same British consular services and protection in third countries as BDTC holders.
Legislators yesterday increased pressure on the Government to halt the plan, objecting to the public being forced to change their passports and to the fact that the decision was made over their heads.
