Voice of Commonwealth

UK stands firm over special visa for Hong Kong residents

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LONDON (CU)_T he United Kingdom says it will stand firm and “not look the other way” on Hong Kong residents with British National (Overseas) status, despite criticism from China over the new visa scheme.

The scheme, which opens on Sunday (Jan 31), will allow those with “British National (Overseas)” status to live, study and work in Britain for five years and eventually apply for citizenship.

Although Britain says the scheme is its way of fulfilling a historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong, however, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has been critical of the move, saying the UK is using the BNO passport as a “political cover-up”, and therefore, Beijing will no longer recognise these passports as a travel document.

The scheme was announced in July, in response to China’s new security laws in the former British colony.

The official spokesman to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the British government has been clear that it will not “look the other way” when it comes to the people of Hong Kong who are with British National (Overseas) status.

“…it remains the case that BNOs and their families can use documentation other than BNO passports to travel and enter the UK,” he said.

PM Johnson on Friday hailed the new visa scheme, saying he is “immensely proud” of the programme through which Britain has honoured its “profound ties of history and friendship” with the people of Hong Kong.

“…we have stood up for freedom and autonomy – values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear,” he said in a statement.

However, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily briefing the “attempt to turn a large number of Hong Kong people into second-class British citizens” had “completely changed the nature of the two sides’ original understanding of BNO”.

He said the move “seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty”, interferes in his country’s internal affairs, and also violates international law and “the basic norms of international relations”.

Responding to these comments, a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said they were “disappointed but not surprised” by China’s decision not to recognise BNO passports.

The British government forecasts that there are 2.9 million citizens, with a further 2.3 million dependants, eligible to move to the UK, although only about 300,000 of them are expected to take up the offer in the first five years.

Those eligible for the new visa can apply online, while BNO status holders who hold an eligible biometric passport will be able to use an app to complete their application from home, starting February 23.

British Home Secretary Priti Patel said the mobile phone app was introduced in order to give the applicants greater security amid fears they could be identified and targeted by the authorities.

“Safeguarding individuals’ freedoms, liberty and security is absolutely vital for those individuals that go through this process,” she said.

In 1997, under the Sino-China Joint Declaration, Hong Kong, which was a British colony, was handed back to China upon an agreement that Beijing would maintain a “one country, two systems” approach, which meant that Hong Kong would have its own legal system and borders.

However, under President Xi Jinping, China has not only eroded these freedoms of Hong Kong, but has also dramatically stepped up its efforts to control the territory, especially through the a new law passed in June last year, that gives Beijing sweeping new controls over the people of Hong Kong.

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