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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mrs Regina Ip, in the Legislative Council today (October 25):
Question:
It was reported that a Hong Kong resident, who travelled to India last year on a British National (Overseas) ("BNO") passport, had been wrongly detained for 23 days because his BNO passport was suspected by local officials to be fake and was certified as a forgery by the British High Commission in Bombay without seeking verification from the relevant authorities in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of fake BNO passports and fake passports of other countries and territories seized by the Immigration Department at immigration control points in the past three years;
(b) whether it knows the number of cases in the past three years in which overseas immigration authorities sought verification of BNO passports from the relevant authorities in Hong Kong and, among these, the number of those certified fake after verification;
(c) of the number of cases in the past three years in which Hong Kong people travelling abroad sought assistance from the Government of Hong Kong, because their BNO passports were suspected to be fake;
(d) whether it has considered taking specific actions, such as establishing a mechanism to facilitate liaison between the Immigration Department and the various overseas consulates of the British Government, so as to enhance the assistance to Hong Kong people travelling abroad on BNO passports when they encounter similar incidents; and
(e) whether it knows if the British Government has plans, or when it intends, to issue BNO passports with enhanced security features, and whether the Hong Kong Government will take the initiative, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to advise the British Government in this respect?
Reply:
Madam President,
Our reply to the question is as follows -
(a) Between 1997 and 1999, the Immigration Department intercepted a total of 7,073 fake passports at immigration control points. Of these, 361, or 5%, were British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passports. During the first nine months of 2000, 1,532 fake passports were intercepted at immigration control points. Of these, 107, or 7%, were BN(O) passports.
(b) The British Consulate-General in Hong Kong is the authority for verification of BN(O) passports. Requests for verification of BN(O) passports are rarely addressed to the Immigration Department directly by overseas immigration authorities. If such requests are received by the Immigration Department, they will be redirected to the British Consulate-General for necessary action. The Immigration Department do not maintain statistics on such requests.
(c) In the past three years, five Hong Kong residents who travelled abroad on BN(O) passports sought assistance from the Hong Kong Immigration Department. Three of them sought assistance because foreign immigration authorities had doubts on the authenticity of their BN(O) passports. The other two persons were suspected to have unlawfully altered the limit of stay on their passports.
(d) Pursuant to the relevant laws of the People's Republic of China, the provisions of international treaties which China has entered into as well as international practices, Chinese diplomatic and consular missions (CDCMs) are entrusted with the responsibility for providing consular assistance to Chinese citizens outside Chinese territory. Hong Kong residents of Chinese nationality whether holding HKSAR passports or BN(O) passports may approach CDCMs for assistance if they need help when travelling abroad. If Immigration Department receives any request for assistance from BN(O) passport holders when travelling abroad or from their relatives in Hong Kong, the Department will immediately liaise with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the relevant CDCMs for assistance on the ground. In the cases referred to in (c) above, the relevant CDCMs had provided the necessary assistance upon request. We therefore do not see the need to establish a separate liaison mechanism between the Immigration Department and the various overseas British Consulates. The Immigration Department has issued a "Guide to Consular Protection and Services Outside Chinese Territory" (copy at Annex) which is available to members of the public.
(e) Hong Kong has autonomy over its immigration control and the Immigration Department maintains close liaison with the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong on immigration matters including information sharing on matters relating to forgery of BN(O) passports. We understand that the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong will start issuing new BN(O) passports with enhanced security features such as digitised photograph and signature during the latter part of 2001 when the new computer supporting system is up and running.
End/Wednesday, October 25, 2000
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