Can BN(O) vote in the Scotland Referendum?

It is perhaps fair to say that there was no practical benefit to use my BN(O) passport for the trips to Maldives or Singapore, compared with the HKSAR passport held by Mrs. Always Right. Both offer visa-free access and the same conditions of entry. It has been reported that the British embassies and Chinese embassies belong to different leagues but I would not mind these are never put to test. There are visible differences though. The HKSAR passport has a politically correct design: a national emblem of the PRC and the character "hua" on every page. For me this per se makes the renewal of BN(O) a real bargain.

The BN(O) is more than just passport. This, according to section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981, is a status. Further, under section 37 of the 1981 Act as amended, a British National (Overseas) "shall have the status of a Commonwealth citizen." I had come across stories on the web regarding Commonwealth citizens' right to vote in the UK elections but it was still a pleasant surprise when I discovered that Commonwealth citizens, "who have leave to remain in the UK or do not require such leave", resident in Scotland, can vote in the Scotland referendum. It is not clear to me exactly what "leave to remain" means but there was a Guardian article published in 2010 which suggests that a three-year stay will suffice.

Coincidentally, having lived in Hong Kong for almost 34 years I was recently reminded by the Party that we do not deserve a genuine vote to select the chief of the city. All very well. we can still vote with our feet to travel with our BN(O) passports.

The choice of passport can be a vote of no confidence against Beijing and its puppets in Hong Kong.

British Empire 2: Singapore

On the Singapore Airlines flight from Male to the SIN City. Lion Lager is a product of Ceylon, Tiger Beer of Singapore.

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, a Hindu temple

An umbrella inside the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, reportedly one of the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, situated at the heart of Little India.

The back of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

Above the Tekka Centre is a "HDB estate".

The back of Sultan Mosque, taken from Arab Street

Haji Lane

A quiet man and a quiet cat in the Haji Lane

Yet another No Signboard Seafood Restaurant at Clarke Quay Central, yet another shopping mall in Singapore. The crabs of No Signboard had brought us to Singapore but it turns out that this city-state has a lot more to offer than just crabs.

There Mrs. Always Right ordered a crab from Ceylon.

Supertrees at the Gardens by the Bay

Inside the Sultan Mosque

Watching time fly at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel

The hot kitchen of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Maxwell Road Hawker Centre, Chinatown

The escalator of Clarke Quay Central, outside GOD Singapore

British Empire 1: Maldives

Seaplane by Maldivian at Male Airport

 Taking off

Barefoot pilot

A seabird's-eye view of yet another atoll(?) in the southern Maldives

 DHC-6 300 in the sky

 Before Sunrise - Maldives

 Sun rising from the Indian Ocean

3,000 miles away from Hong Kong on an obscure island in Maldives, I was presented with a copy of the hotel newspaper. A blunt reminder that there is no escape.

 Beach, palm trees and two ladies

 

Baby shark near the jetty

OCBC Wing Hang

All's well that ends well. Some months ago rumours had it that the Agricultural Bank of China was bidding for the controlling stake in Wing Hang Bank. OCBC has since emerged as the winner. These days, the state-owned banks in Hong Kong embrace the freedom of assembly by encouraging their staff members to turn up at the "anti-occupy Central march". The last thing this city needs is another big PRC bank.

OCBC Bank has a branch in London at Rex Building in the City which offers mortgage loans for property investments in London. I would love to see more competition with Bank of East Asia, HSBC and Shanghai Commercial Bank, which are apparently the the only lenders which offer UK mortgage loans to their Hong Kong customers.

On 18 August, Wing Hang announced that its name would change to OCBC Wing Hang with effect from 1 October. A happy coincidence.

Diversify by Investing in Hang Seng Index

I have been accumulating iShares MSCI China Index ETF for a year or two. While I have wanted to diversify by investing in shares in British companies, the P/E ratio of the Vanguard Developed Europe Index ETF (20.0x) suggests that I should be patient at this time.

The need to diversify remains and on second thought investing in the Hang Seng Index may help a bit. No doubt there is duplication between MSCI China Index and Hang Seng Index (the usual suspects include Tencent, China Mobile, CCB, ICBC and BOC). Yet the following constituents of Hang Seng Index makes it different:-

Finance

HSBC, AIA, HKEX, Hang Seng Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Bank of East Asia

Utilities

CLP, Hong Kong and China Gas and Power Assets

Properties

Cheung Kong, Sun Hung Kai Properties, Wharf, Hang Lung Properties, Henderson Land, New World Development and Sino Land

Commerce and Industry

Hutchinson, Galaxy Entertainment, Sands China, Swire Pacific, Li & Fung, MTR and Cathay Pacific

Hang Seng Index will bring opportunities to invest in Hong Kong, Macao (through Galaxy and Sands), Asia (AIA) and even the UK (HSBC and Hutchinson). In 2013, 17% of revenue of Hutchinson was generated in the UK (compared with 15% in Hong Kong, 14% in Canada and 12% in China); 23% of EBITDA from the UK, again more than any other countries.

Time to do some math. As at 15 August:-
The price for three board lots (or 600 units) of 2801:HK was $13,200 whereas one board lot (or 500 units) of 2800:HK was $12,875.

Goodman's Fields

Last Thursday I dug out an email from my spam box circulated by a Colliers salesman selling the Royal Arsenal Riverside in Greenwich. Yet another project developed by Berkeley. What really caught my eyes is that Berkeley has its own office in Edinburgh Tower. I thought this is a recent response to the strong demand among Hong Kong and China buyers but, well, it transpired that the office in the Landmark was opened back in 2012. This is quite a helpful reminder that I am never a first-mover when it comes to investments, and chances are that the market has already overheated after it is "discovered" by me.

The spam reminds me of the second property project which we viewed - Meranti House of Goodman's Fields, also developed by Berkeley. In January 2014, I was attracted by the low price advertised on HKEJ - a studio flat near the City for as low as £500,000! The salesman was charmingly pushy. For what it is worth, he gave me a lecture on why the Britons love west-facing properties and the beauty of buying first-hand property in the UK (in gist, flexibility of transfer to a greater fool before completion). When I asked him about potential yield, he suggested me to look at the upside of capital gains. My boss must be quite right when she advised me to approach the developers directly to strike a deal. Why should I pay a great salesman like him or the posh showroom at Mandarin Oriental (particularly when Berkeley has it own office in Hong Kong)?

The salesman did tell me (when asked) part of the Goodman's Fields would be used for student accommodation. Not an awfully attractive idea when the project positioned as an upmarket one - its sales brochure is a coffee table book and it is claimed that the place has been designed as a 21st century version of the towers of San Gimignano!

More on Meranti House from Square Foot:-

Meranti House is part of Berkeley's massive Goodman's Fields development in Aldgate, just north of Tower Bridge that will ultimately include almost 1,000 homes within the project. The 20-storey tower will account for 107 residences, ranging from studio apartments to three-bedroom units and one duplex penthouse. 

Meranti is one of scores of new "neighbourhoods" that are being created in London, be it through regeneration or new builds: Kings Cross, Elephant & Castle and Nine Elms as just a few. With its multiple piazzas and town squares, shops, restaurants, residences and offices, Goodman's Fields is just one more. 

"The ethos behind our developments is about place making, creating distinctive new developments which not only deliver fantastic new residential homes, but also make a difference and benefit to the wider area," explains Berkeley (North East London) Managing Director Piers Clanford. He points out the extras that Goodman's Field will be able to offer, citing a new two-acre park - with commissioned art - in Zone 1 as just one. "Goodman’s Fields is unique because it incorporates a mix of commercial and leisure facilities … for everyone to enjoy, creating an oasis in the heart of the capital." 

As a hub of the finance and, increasingly, tech industries, prime London has been touted as a strong rental market, making yields an attractive part of investing in the city. Targeted at both end-users and investors, Meranti House is ideally positioned within walking distance of 300,000 professionals' offices, and end-users will be attracted to its lifestyle amenities: a private cinema, lounge, pool and spa among others. "At Goodman's Fields purchasers will be buying for both capital gains and yield generation. Due to the development's close proximity to the City and Canary Wharf, the area is a popular destination for rental tenants who want to live close to the office. The arrival of Crossrail in 2018 is also expected to see values rise," states Clanford.

Square Foot says Meranti House's prices begin at £549,500. I have no idea why the properties were more expensive on Square Foot than on HKEJ.

CoStar has a report on the sale of part of the development to Student Castle. City A.M. has one on the neighbourhood.

Before I forget - I have learned a new term from the spam mail - DLR means Docklands Light Railway.

Lord Goldsmith on BN(O) and British Citizenship

These days the long forgotten Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984 has surfaced again. There are calls for the British government to stand up for Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, which was supposedly agreed between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic and recorded in the Joint Declaration. I for one will not hold my breath for David Cameron's support. Yet the Joint Declaration itself is an interesting document to study. It provide clues to almost all topics I am fascinated about (from Hong Kong land law to BN(O)). BN(O) first.

On 19 December 1984, the day on which the Joint Declaration was signed, memoranda were exchanged between the UK and the PRC:-

United Kingdom Memorandum 

In connection with the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the question of Hong Kong to be signed this day, the Government of the United Kingdom declares that, subject to the completion of the necessary amendments to the relevant United Kingdom legislation: 

a) All persons who on 30 June 1997 are, by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong, British Dependent Territories Citizens (BDTCs) under the law in force in the United Kingdom will cease to be BDTCs with effect from 1 July 1997, but will be eligible to retain an appropriate status which, without conferring the right of abode in the United Kingdom, will entitle them to continue to use passports issued by the Government of the United Kingdom. This status will be acquired by such persons only if they hold or are included in such a British passport issued before 1 July 1997, except that eligible persons born on or after 1 January 1997 but before 1 July 1997 may obtain or be included in such a passport up to 31 December 1997. 

b) No person will acquire BDTC status on or after 1 July 1997 by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong. No person born on or before 1 July 1997 will acquire the status referred to as being appropriate in sub-paragraph (a). 

c) United Kingdom consular officials in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and elsewhere may renew and replace passports of persons mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) and may also issue them to persons, born before 1 July 1997 of such persons, who had previously been included in the passport of their parent. 

d) Those who have obtained or been included in passports issued by the Government of the United Kingdom under sub-paragraphs (a) and (c) will be entitled to receive, upon request, British consular services and protection when in third countries. 

Beijing, 19 December 1984.

Chinese Memorandum 

The Government of the People's Republic of China has received the memorandum from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dated 19 December 1984. 

Under the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, all Hong Kong Chinese compatriots, whether they are holders of the 'British Dependent Territories Citizens' Passport' or not, are Chinese nationals. 

Taking account of the historical background of Hong Kong and its realities, the competent authorities of the Government of the People's Republic of China will, with effect from 1 July 1997, permit Chinese nationals in Hong Kong who were previously called 'British Dependent Territories Citizens' to use travel documents issued by the Government of the United Kingdom for the purpose of travelling to other states and regions. 

The above Chinese nationals will not be entitled to British consular protection in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other parts of the People's Republic of China on account of their holding the above-mentioned British travel documents. 

Beijing, 19 December 1984.

The BN(O) passports derive from this United Kingdom Memorandum. I don't profess to understand a thing about international law but the memorandum (singular) does not seem to be forming part of the treaty. The memoranda are not even described as annexes to the Joint Declaration. (Annex 3 is on Hong Kong land leases and I should write on that someday.)

When you google BN(O) you will probably come across Lord Goldsmith. Commissioned by Gordon Brown, Lord Goldsmith submitted a paper entitled Citizenship: Our Common Bond in March 2008.  There are bits and pieces on BN(O):-

19. The aim behind the 1981 Act was to create a system which was “both satisfactory and lasting” on the basis that over time the only categories which would be left would be British Citizenship and British Dependent Territories citizenship. Three major further developments, however, occurred. 

20. First, the arrangements for the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 involved detailed consideration of the citizenship status of the population and particularly the ethnic Chinese population after the handover. These arrangements were complicated and resulted in the creation of several new bases for the voluntary acquisition of British citizenship and the creation of a new and sixth form of British nationality – that of British National (Overseas). BN(O) status carried with it the right, recognized by the mainland China to use BN(O) travel documents. 

21. It was a matter of political controversy at the time that Hong Kong citizens were not simply entitled to take a full British passport. But it was a part of the arrangements with China that the UK should not grant the right to live in the UK to people who were previously British Dependent Territories Citizens by virtue of a connection to Hong Kong. 

22. I have taken the opportunity to hold informal discussions whilst in Hong Kong on the present state of these issues. It is apparent that the fears which lay behind some of the debate on this topic, namely violent repression of the Hong Kong people by the authorities have, fortunately, not materialized even though there remain concerns including about human rights treatment generally in China. It also appears to be the case that many Hong Kong residents are finding it easy to travel on travel documents issued to them by China. Indeed there was a time when such travel documents were more useful in some countries than the BN(O) travel document. I discuss below whether, in the circumstances it would be right to consider changing the BN(O) arrangements ...

[Footnote] 48. For example, the British and Australian governments agreed that the former would provide consular assistance to the nationals of the latter in Iraq. An exception arises in respect of British Nationals (Overseas) of Chinese ethnic origin travelling in China, Hong Kong and the Macao Special Administrative Regions, because China views these nationals as their own. BN(O)s obtain the same protection as other British nationals when travelling elsewhere ... 

11. Finally, there is the question of British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)s) who have that status by virtue of their connection to Hong Kong and are not affected by the 2002 legislative changes. They hold the only extant and significant form of British citizenship which is not full citizenship and does not allow an unqualified right to enter and remain in the UK. 

12. From discussions that I have had in Hong Kong, it is clear to me that the demand for BN(O) status is dropping. Nonetheless to remove this status without putting something significant in its place would be seen as the British reneging on their promise to the people of Hong Kong. The only option which would be characterized as fair would be to offer existing BN(O) holders the right to gain full British citizenship. It is likely that many would not take this up as the prospects economic and fiscal of moving to the UK are not favourable to those well-established in Hong Kong. However, I am advised that this would be a breach of the commitments made between China and the UK in the 1984 Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong, an international treaty between the two countries; and that to secure Chinese agreement to vary the terms of that treaty would not be possible. On that basis, I see no alternative but to preserve this one anomalous category of citizenship.

His Lordship's comment that "The only option which would be characterized as fair would be to offer existing BN(O) holders the right to gain full British citizenship" is oft-cited among Hong Kong commentators and may even give a glimpse of hope to many BN(O)s. It must not be forgotten that Lord Goldsmith, formerly the Attorney General of Tony Blair's government, was not a member of the government at the time when he wrote this report. In any event, these discussions hardly attracted any attention in Britain. One wonders if the issue of BN(O) status will resurface when the Communist China becomes even more oppressive.