TENS of thousands of people flooded the Hong Kong immigration department offices yesterday in a bid to beat the midnight deadline for applying for British passports.
By early evening over 35,000 applications had been processed yesterday alone, more than the figure for the whole of 1995. Several thousand more were still in line.
Over 700 specially drafted immigration staff processed 3,000 applications an hour in a round the clock sprint to beat the deadline for the British National Overseas (BNO) passports.
The government had hired a nearby sports ground to deal with the queue, which erupted into violence on Saturday as tempers flared. Four people were charged with assault.
A 60 year old man was taken to hospital after the attack.
After the midnight deadline, no applications for BNOs - which confer no right of abode but are useful for travel will be accepted.
China will issue its own papers when it resumes sovereignty of Hong Kong next year, but these may not be recognised for visa free travel by as many countries.
"It's insurance," said a middle aged merchant seaman in the queue yesterday. "We don't know what use it will be, but for visa free travel it looks like it will be better than the Chinese version.
The immigration offices in the city's Wan Chai district stayed open on Saturday night to deal with the crowds building up for the last day.
"It's all under control " an immigration spokesman said.
"All applicants will be processed. The queue is quite orderly and moving very smoothly".
Some two million people are eligible to apply for the passports. But it is unclear exactly how useful the passports, which cost $1,200 HK (£100) will be if applicants are successful.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Hong Kong people took to the streets yesterday to protest against Chinese interference in the territory's government, with a march to the offices of the Beijing's representatives.
The protest, organised by the Democratic Party, independent legislators and trade unionists, follows China's announcement last week that it will scrap Hong Kong's elected legislature when it resumes power on July 1st, 1997, and replace it with a version to its own liking.
. Chinese police raided a charity banquet in Beijing to raise funds for the country's orphans, preventing best selling US author, Amy Tan, from making a scheduled speech to the gathering, guests said yesterday.
The 600 yuan (£46) a head banquet in the Holiday Inn Lido Hotel was attended on Saturday by some 450 guests, mostly foreign, including the US and Canadian ambassadors to Beijing, many American Chamber of Commerce directors and numerous heads of multinational corporations.
. Taiwan will hold three military drills next month, including a live fire one near China, days after Beijing ended its recent series of war games close to the nationalist island, officials and the Central News Agency (CNA) said Saturday.
The Defence Minister, Mr Chiang Chung-lin, confirmed that the sea air drills on April 7th-10th will be conducted in the front line island group of Matsu - within Taiwanese territory, according to the official news agency.
"They are just training exercises and have nothing to do with the series of menacing mainland Chinese war games held in the Taiwan Strait over the past few weeks," Mr Chiang was quoted as saying.