Nationality law of the People's Republic of China territory "before or after" their transfer of sovereignty to China are regarded as "born in China". Those who are of ethnic Chinese origin are Chinese nationals before and after the handovers. Having said that, people born in Hong Kong or Macao in the years before handover, were usually given British nationality (mostly British Dependent Territories Citizenship) and full Portuguese citizenship, based on British and Portuguese laws. For Hong Kong residents, the "Interpretation" of the Nationality Law was adopted at the Nineteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on May 15, 1996, a year prior to
Nationality law of the People's Republic of China jure" loss of Chinese nationality. In reality, however, the actual loss of Chinese nationality for Mainland residents is difficult to enforce due to technical difficulties, such as lacking in record-sharing agreements with other countries. It is worth mentioning that unlike Indian nationality law, Chinese nationality law does not have any provisions restricting Chinese nationals from holding foreign passports. Because Chinese nationals who are residents of Hong Kong and Macau cannot automatically lose Chinese nationality under Article 9 even after acquiring foreign nationality (see above), such persons would only lose Chinese nationality if they renounce Chinese nationality (see above). In this