A sure sign of the SAR's coming of age
There can be no better sign that 'one country, two systems' is working and Hong Kong is faring well under Chinese sovereignty than the local Indian community's change of heart over becoming Chinese nationals.
Like most local Chinese who had acquired a limited form of British nationality by naturalisation or birth in Hong Kong while it was a British colony, ethnic minorities here were issued British National Overseas passports that gave them no right of abode in Britain.
Fearful of what might happen to Hong Kong after 1997, they had mounted a high-profile campaign during the run-up to the handover to be given full British passports. They were concerned that the BNO passports are merely travel documents, whose holders cannot pass on their British nationality to their children, who could technically become stateless because the acquisition of Chinese nationality is primarily based on descent. Many were also uncomfortable about becoming Chinese nationals because of the tumultuous history of China.
It does not help that while the Chinese Nationality Law has detailed provisions on how foreign nationals or stateless persons can become Chinese nationals, local immigration officials seem to have routinely discouraged such applications from ethnic minorities.
The revelation that an increasing number of locally born Indians now have no qualms about applying to become Chinese nationals and are being accepted is therefore encouraging. It shows a new found maturity on the parts of both the immigration authorities and the ethnic minorities.
Many non-Chinese citizens in this multicultural community are highly qualified to become Chinese nationals as they were born in Hong Kong, have always lived and worked here and speak the Cantonese dialect fluently. They were once hesitant about doing so; the fact that they have put aside their reservations sends the clearest message to the world that Hong Kong under Chinese rule is faring well, despite periodic rumblings about its perceived shortcomings.