Rush for British passports in HK

HONG KONG (AFP): Uncertainty over the future of Hong Kong has sparked a mad rush for the final British passports allotted for the inhabitants of the colony before its return to Chinese rule in 1997.

The final full passports available were oversubscribed by more than three times as concern over China's takeover grew among Hong Kong's population of six million, according to figures from the Security Branch.

Analysts say the rush is a natural reaction to the rapidly approaching 1997 handover date and the breakdown in Sino-British relations following the Hong Kong legislature's recent passage of Governor Chris Patten's electoral reform package.

China has repeatedly warned that the colony's political structure would be overhauled once Hong Kong was under its control.

According to government figures, 41,597 people applied for British nationality in the second and final phase of the National Selection Scheme, which ended on March 31. Only 13,160 places were available.

The scheme was started in 1990 in an attempt to stop the "brain drain" of professionals emigrating from the colony following China's 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

The scheme allows qualified people to register as full British citizens without having to leave the territory.

The main applicants in the second phase included police, civil servants, members of the business community, social workers, translators, architects and teachers.

"All they want is just an insurance policy to leave Hong Kong any time they like," said Joseph Cheng, head of the social science department of City Polytechnic.

"However, it does not necessarily mean there is a loss of confidence on the future of Hong Kong," Cheng said, adding that it was "just a matter of assessing the opportunity" available abroad and at home.