Ching Cheong In 2005,
Ching Cheong, a
Hong Kong-based journalist of the
Singapore-based newspaper
The Straits Times, was arrested by the Chinese
Ministry of State Security and was accused of stealing "state secrets". The correspondent entered Mainland China with his Home Return Permit while holding a BN(O) passport. Since he is both a Chinese national, a British National (Overseas), as well as a permanent resident of Singapore, organisations like
the Hong Kong Journalists' Association and
Reporters Without Borders, urged the British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to intervene. The British
Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it had no plans to comment on the case. British officials have indicated that if there were any representations to be made, they would take place behind the scenes. A London
spokesperson confirmed: "We can offer consular assistance but we cannot interfere in the legal affairs of another country." The Chinese
Central People's Government never recognized any British National (Overseas) status, and stated that its nationals from Hong Kong cannot enjoy foreign consular protection on Chinese soil on the basis of holding foreign passports. The
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom stated that "Mr Ching is a
British National (Overseas) passport holder and we have pressed the central authorities for information on the circumstances of his arrest and will continue to seek consular access as a matter of urgency, which so far has been denied." There were other cases that the
British Government was asked to assist
BN(O) passport holders detained in Mainland China.
Pro-democracy politicians Before the handover, some
pro-democracy Hong Kong politicians, such as
Margaret Ng,
Emily Lau and
Christine Loh attempted to use their British citizen passports to enter Mainland China because they were denied a Home Return Permit, hence denied entry to Mainland China. Those politicians, however, are still Chinese nationals under the
Chinese nationality law; acquisition of Chinese nationality of ethnic Chinese residents born in Hong Kong is involuntary, although they may choose to relinquish their Chinese nationality if they hold citizenship of other countries, except for the
British National (Overseas) status and the British citizenship obtained in the
British Nationality Selection Scheme.
Albert Ho, who had his Home Return Permit cancelled by the Central government, ran for
Chief Executive in 2012. During the election campaign,
Henry Tang pledged that if he became the next Chief Executive, he would talk to
Beijing to secure a new permit for Albert Ho.
Leung Chun-ying gave a more generic response that did not answer to Ho specifically, and said if he became the next Chief Executive, he would welcome anyone to seek his help.
Lee Bo In 2016, issues regarding the
disappearances of Lee Bo, the owner of Causeway Bay Books, were raised by British
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond as Lee is a British citizen with a Home Return Permit who was later confirmed to have been extradited from Hong Kong by Chinese law enforcement officials. Hammond demanded that the Chinese government launch a thorough investigation regarding the breach of independent
jurisdiction rights enjoyed by Hong Kong. The
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded by saying that China would refuse to do so because Lee is, "first and foremost, a Chinese citizen (national)" under the Chinese nationality law and the
Basic Law of Hong Kong, therefore the British government would have no say on internal affairs of China. This case came under international attention because, unlike Ching Cheong, Lee was neither arrested nor had any charges against him in Mainland China, and his British citizen status, unlike Ching's BN(O), was recognized by the Chinese government. ==See also==