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China has harshly criticized a UK immigration program that allows Hong Kong residents to stay permanently in the UK. “Britain is trying to turn large numbers of Hong Kong citizens into second-class British citizens,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing said on Friday. In retaliation, he announced that China no longer recognizes the passports London issues to so-called British Overseas Citizens (BNOs) in Hong Kong as travel documents. Since most Hong Kong people travel with other documents, this is primarily a symbolic step. The spokesman said that Beijing reserves the right to take further action. He accused the UK government of “ignoring the fact that Hong Kong returned to China 24 years ago.”
The UK had announced the details of the immigration program shortly before. Starting Sunday, Hong Kong residents can apply for a residency visa for up to five years. In London, around 300,000 Hong Kong residents of the more than five million beneficiaries are expected to benefit from the offer.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday night “immensely proud” that “we have opened this new way for Hong Kong BNO to live, work and feel at home in our country.” This takes into account “the deep ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong.” “We defend freedom and autonomy, values that are upheld in both the UK and Hong Kong.” By one estimate, the UK economy could benefit from an influx of more than three billion euros over the next five years. London announced the immigration program in July after China restricted freedoms in Hong Kong with the “national security law.” The British government views the law as a violation of the 1984 treaty governing the return of the Hong Kong Crown Colony to China. Beijing, for its part, views the immigration program, which opens the way to British citizenship after six years, as a breach of contract.
London could join “Quad”
According to newspaper reports, the British government is also considering joining what is known as “Asian NATO.” The informal group, also known as the “Quad,” currently includes the United States, Australia, Japan and India. Its objective is to contain the Chinese expansion. Johnson took a first step in this direction when he invited Australia and India, along with South Korea, to the G-7 summit to be held in Cornwall in June. Kurt Campbell, who coordinates Asian policy in the US government, recently welcomed the British initiative in an essay for “Foreign Affairs” and recommended that the G7 be permanently expanded to include a group of the top ten democracies (“D10 “).
