Prime Minister Scott Morrison has expressed his government’s desire to continue assisting Australian citizens in Hong Kong despite a .
In a change of policy announced on Tuesday, a person who holds dual citizenship will no longer be entitled to foreign consular assistance, which brings into action an existing but not enforced Chinese law.
It means that both Australian and Hong Kong citizenship would no longer be able to call on Australian consular assistance for help in the city.
"That [law] has a very specific provision that where people [who] have foreign nationality or right of abode elsewhere are regarded as Chinese nationals in Hong Kong," Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters on Tuesday.
“Unless [dual nationals] have renounced and have been approved to renounce their foreign nationality, they are regarded as Chinese nationals in Hong Kong so they will not be eligible for consular protection.”
Regarding the policy change, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday told SBS Chinese that the federal government seeks to support Australian citizens “in their circumstances wherever we possibly can”.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 Source: AP
“If people are dual citizens, then they have put themselves in different categories of treatment by the government of the other citizenship.
“We found that difficulty back when we were dealing with [dual] citizens in Wuhan and things like that early in the pandemic.
“Australia will seek to do the right thing by our citizens, if the government of the other citizenship seek to constraint that because of their other citizenship, that is really the issue for that government.”
Mr Morrison confirmed that his government was not calling on dual nationals to denounce their Chinese citizenship as a result of the policy shift.
“Australia will always provide support to its own citizens but there’s nothing that we can do that would change the way the government of the other citizenship behaves and it’s really a matter for people themselves.”
The Australian government's travel advice for Hong Kong on its Smartraveller website was updated on Wednesday to reflect the policy shift.
"Dual citizenship is no longer recognised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region following the application of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China," the website states.
"As previously advised, Hong Kong's national security law could be interpreted broadly and you could break the law without intending to. If you’re concerned about the new law, reconsider your need to remain in Hong Kong.
"You may be at increased risk of detention on vaguely defined national security grounds. The maximum penalty under this law in Hong Kong is life imprisonment. The Australian government can't intervene in the Hong Kong judicial process."
It also advises dual citizenship holders to travel on their Australian passport.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he'll do what he can to help Australian citizens. Source: AAP
"The Australian government may be unable to help if you're a dual national and you don't travel on your Australian passport.
"Hong Kong law allows dual nationals of Chinese descent to register their Australian nationality with the [Hong Kong] immigration department. If you're travelling to mainland China, use your Australian passport. However, if local authorities consider you a citizen of China, they may refuse to grant you access to Australian consular services. This will prevent the Australian government from providing you with those services."
Dual nationality is not recognised in Hong Kong and authorities are not legally required to grant consular access to those who retain dual passports, under Chinese law.
These regulations in Hong Kong were formed by China's top lawmaking body in 1996, a year before Hong Kong's handover. But the rules have not been previously enforced, according to legal experts.
