Hong Kong has much to offer, even for those who choose to leave
- Everyone who decides to change nationality has their own reasons, and there are also many grounds for people to stay in Hong Kong
- If things do not work out well for those who seek a new life abroad, they will always be welcome back
Twenty years ago this month, I ceased to be British and legally became a Chinese national. To achieve this, I renounced my birth nationality and gave up my British passport.
I received my naturalisation certificate, granted under Article 7 of China’s nationality law, on August 1, 2001. Within a few weeks, I had received my new ID card with three stars, my new Hong Kong SAR passport stating clearly that my nationality was now Chinese and – perhaps best of all – my home return permit for entry to mainland China, which a Hong Kong passport cannot provide.
My understanding is that those who had done this in Hong Kong before me were mostly ethnic Chinese with another citizenship, such as Malaysian or Indonesian, or South Asians or people of mixed ethnicity. As far as I know, I was the first Caucasian.
After news of my case became public, others contacted me to ask for details. Rationale varied from case to case, some to avoid tax or national service, others for the convenience of travelling on the same passport as their spouse or ease of travel to the mainland.
Everyone has their reasons for changing nationality. Mine were quite simple: I had become a Hong Kong person. I first came here in 1972 and, after some early months in the private sector, spent 34 years in public service.
Particularly in this last capacity, I travelled the world telling people what a great place our city is to do business. It just did not seem right to be doing this with a British passport tucked inside my pocket. It felt more natural to be “selling” Hong Kong if I could show people I believed it and had bought the product myself.
Such a major decision does not happen overnight but is the culmination of a process. For the first few years after settling here, going to England was going “home” while returning here was setting off to foreign parts.
Some time around 1980, the sentiment reversed. Going to England became visiting, while getting to Heathrow and checking in for the return flight meant I would soon be home.
They might also be asked by their own children why Britain did not simply give them all nationality upon request, rather than subjecting them to the bureaucratic jungle. After all, that is what Portugal did for Macau citizens.
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To all those leaving, I wish you well and hope that you are as happy in your new country as I am in mine. But if things do not work out, you will always be welcome back here in Hong Kong.
Mike Rowse is the CEO of Treloar Enterprises