holders Besides BN(O) status, British citizenship and Chinese nationality, many residents of Hong Kong have obtained citizenship in countries such as Australia, Canada, or the United States. Officially speaking, if they have not made a "declaration of change of nationality" at the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, they are regarded by the Chinese authorities as Chinese nationals. In this case, they can use their Home Return Permits to enter Mainland China instead of their foreign passports. Under the master nationality rule, persons entering Mainland China with a Home Return Permit are Chinese nationals and are accordingly not entitled to foreign consular protection. Incidents Ching Cheong In 2005, Ching Cheong, a Hong Kong-based journalist of the Singapore-based newspaper The Straits Times, was arrested by the Chinese Ministry of State Security and was accused of stealing "state secrets". The correspondent entered Mainland with his Home Return Permit while holding a BN(O) passport. Since he is both a Chinese national, a British National (Overseas), as well as a permanent resident of Singapore, organisations like the Hong Kong Journalists' Association and Reporters Without Borders, urged the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to intervene. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it had no plans to comment on the case. British officials have indicated that if there were any representations to be made, they would take place behind the scenes. A London spokesperson confirmed: "We can offer consular assistance but we cannot interfere in the legal affairs of another country." The Chinese Central People's Government never recognized any British National (Overseas) status, and stated that its nationals from Hong Kong cannot enjoy foreign consular protection on Chinese soil on the basis of holding foreign passports. The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom stated that "Mr Ching is a British National (Overseas) passport holder and we have pressed the central authorities for information on the circumstances of his arrest and will continue to seek consular access as a matter of urgency, which so far has been denied." There were other cases that the British Government was asked to assist BN(O) passport holders detained in Mainland China. Pro-democracy politicians Before the handover, some pro-democracy Hong Kong politicians, such as Margaret Ng, Emily Lau and Christine Loh attempted to use their British citizen passports to enter Mainland China because they were denied a Home Return Permit, hence denied from entering Mainland China. Those politicians, however, are still Chinese