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LONDON: London was never on Hong Konger Aragorn’s list of places to visit, but now the 36-year-old is trying to build a new life in the British capital after fleeing a security crackdown at his birthplace.
Aragorn, who declined to give his full name and said his safety would have been at risk at home due to his pro-democracy activism, is one of the first Hong Kongers eligible to embark on a new path to becoming a British citizen. .
“Of course, nobody wants to leave their home country and I literally miss milk tea in Hong Kong,” he said in an interview by the River Thames, in the financial heart of the capital.
“I can’t say that we are betraying or not betraying the cause of fighting for our own rights and fighting for democracy (by leaving). But I think we have to keep living. I mean we have to stay alive for whatever cause.”
Lincoln Chong, a Hong Kong citizen poses for a photo in central London, Britain, February 4, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS / Hannah McKay)
READ: ‘It’s not the city I used to know’: Why some Hong Kongers leave
London launched the plan for British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders after Beijing imposed a national security law last June, after months of protests, which activists say erodes the promised freedoms to the territory when it returned to the Chinese rule in 1997.
Nearly 5,000 Hong Kong citizens have already applied to live, work and study in Britain on the new visas since the scheme was launched on January 31, The Times newspaper said on Thursday.
Britain, which has predicted that the scheme could attract more than 300,000 people and their dependents in the first five years, says it is fulfilling a historic and moral commitment to Hong Kong, which became a global commercial and financial center during its more than 150 years. colonial rule.
He accuses Beijing of violating the terms agreed before the transfer by introducing security laws that he says are being used to silence dissent.
China says the visa is a violation of international law and interferes with its internal affairs.
An anti-government protester participates in a lunchtime protest against national security law at a shopping mall in Hong Kong, China, on July 6, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Joyce Zhou / File Photo)
READ: China will not recognize the British passport for Hong Kong residents from January 31
DIFFICULT LABOR MARKET
While the plan removes legal barriers for Hong Kong residents, financial and social barriers remain.
Aragorn said the COVID-19 pandemic, which has emptied offices in the city for nearly a year, has made it difficult to find a job.
“Before I left Hong Kong and in the first months after my arrival in late September and early October, I was still looking forward to an office job,” he said. But when England closed again in November, his optimism began to fade.
“That’s why I started looking for waiter jobs or even restaurant kitchen assistant jobs or bubble tea shop assistant or whatever,” he said.
Under the new rules, Hong Kong residents holding a BNO passport will be able to stay for five years and then apply for “settled status” and citizenship.
A government spokeswoman said visa applicants must show that they can support themselves and their dependents.
The government was preparing plans for the arrival of more BNO status holders, he said, and local authorities in England had been updated on the new immigration route.
“(We) will communicate more with those areas that may see a higher number of arrivals to support their planning,” he said, adding that assistance will be provided to access education.
READ: UK opens special visa route for Hong Kong residents to become citizens
READ: UK says it is defending ‘freedom and autonomy’ with new Hong Kong visas
FEAR OF UNCERTAINTY
Lincoln Chong, a 26-year-old student at UCL London, said his friends didn’t see his future in Hong Kong.
“Some of them are considering going to Canada, Taiwan, Australia. But I guess at least half of them are planning to come to the UK,” he said. “The fear of uncertainty, of the unknown, is the main reason why people decide to give up their lives and try to settle in this unknown place.”
Britain has said there will be some costs for public services, but estimates the visa will have a positive net impact of between 2.4 billion and 2.9 billion pounds over five years.
Chong, for his part, is confident in his prospects.
“It is relatively easy for me because I consider myself young and I can learn things easily,” he said. “But if you ask a person of 40, 50 or even like my parents’ age, retirement age, you ask them to come here and try to learn all these things, I would say that it is a great challenge for them.”
READ: Hong Kong’s emigration to Britain could mean a capital outflow of US $ 36 billion: Report
In all, 5.4 million Hong Kongers could eventually be eligible for British citizenship.
“I don’t think anyone knows what the number will be in the next five years, it’s a dynamic process,” said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS, University of London, adding that a lot depended on whether the authorities in Hong Kong and China took additional steps to suppress dissent.
“The vast majority of people in Hong Kong don’t want to leave Hong Kong.”
