Canada, Britain and the US have expressed alarm after Ottawa revealed that Hong Kong authorities forced a dual citizen to choose one nationality, enforcing what they said was a little-used regulation for the first time in decades.
Global Affairs Canada on Tuesday said that someone with a dual nationality in a Hong Kong prison was required to make a declaration of nationality on Jan. 18.
“We are aware of more such incidences involving dual nationals of other countries,” a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said.
The revelation has sent diplomats scrambling for more information given the potential implications for hundreds of thousands of dual nationals living in Hong Kong — and those who travel there for business and tourism.
Under Chinese law, dual nationality is not legally recognized in Hong Kong and authorities might refuse to grant consular access to those who retain Hong Kong or Chinese passports.
However, diplomats have said that the regulations were never enforced and that, until now, officials faced few problems accessing dual nationals in custody.
That appears to have changed as Beijing clashes with Western nations over its crackdown in Hong Kong.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they were also aware of more examples than the single case that Canada went public with.
A US Department of State spokesman said that Washington had “deep concerns that this new Hong Kong policy will compel people to declare their citizenship under duress and without an opportunity to understand the full implications of the declaration.”
The spokesman said that US diplomats would continue to seek access to “any US citizen arrested in Hong Kong, regardless of their categorization by the Hong Kong government.”
A British consulate spokesperson said that London was “seeking answers from the Hong Kong authorities, following the suggestion that they might withdraw our consular access to dual national prisoners and prevent us providing the support we have given since 1997.”
The Hong Kong Correctional Services Department declined to comment. The Hong Kong Security Bureau cited China’s nationality laws to explain why consular visits might be rejected.
The territory has about 300,000 Canadian, 100,000 Australian and 85,000 US passport holders. Many are dual nationals with Hong Kong passports.
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