60429    Last year he visited Beijing as one of the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce.

60430    He also discussed post-1997 political issues with the Chinese government, including protecting the rights of Indian residents and Indian-affiliated companies.

60431    "Hong Kong should still continue to grow after its reversion to China. Already Hong Kong is not much different than Shenzhen. I'm not at all worried about economic problems."

60432    Raji may be fully convinced of this point, but the gravest issue is the nationality of Indian residents after the reversion.

60433    Raji himself holds British citizenship, but among the 25,000 Indian residents, five to six thousand have neither British nor Indian citizenship, holding only Hong Kong residency.

60434    In principle China does not recognize Chinese nationality for those other than of Chinese ancestry, so other residents could potentially become stateless after 1997.

60435    The Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong is strongly appealing to both Britain and China for a resolution to the statehood issue.

60436    Raji has had more opportunities recently to travel to India on business.

60437    He has plans to build a manufacturing plant in India.

60438    "Even though India has been a conservative country, they have finally begun to see the importance of foreign capital."

60439    China and India.

60440    Hong Kong has the advantage of being a link between these two great countries.

60441    For Raji though, India is a foreign land.

60442    "Even when I go to India it doesn't feel like my country. A lot of my friends are Chinese, and I have nowhere but Hong Kong to call home."

60443    There are ten people in the Sitar family living in Hong Kong.