Indian-born professor Shekhar Kumta angry over Chinese citizenship denial
Indian-born professor, a Hong Kong resident for 23 years whose work is acclaimed on the mainland, is at a loss to explain his rejection
A medical professor from India has been turned down for Chinese citizenship despite 23 years' residence in Hong Kong and extensive contributions to his field in Hong Kong and on the mainland, he said.
Professor Shekhar Madhukar Kumta, 55, assistant dean of Chinese University's faculty of medicine, has also worked for the department of orthopaedics and traumatology at the Prince of Wales Hospital.
He is the latest of several ethnic minority Hongkongers to have reported their rejection for naturalisation as a Chinese citizen. Kumta's application was turned down last year, but he approached the South China Morning Post only recently in reaction to other similar stories.
After submitting all the necessary paperwork for the citizenship process, Kumta says he was not even granted an interview - nor given a reason for his rejection. "I have no understanding of the basis for my refusal," he said.
He regards Hong Kong as his home and thinks citizenship would give him more protection while working in China.