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HOW COME SINKIES NOT QUITTING to UK?
UK risks being pulled into Hong Kong crisis over citizenship row
British MPs garner some backing for awarding holders of ‘BNO’ passports equal rights
A demonstrator holds a replica of a British National Overseas passport at a demonstration in Hong Kong in August © Bloomberg
Britain risks being pulled into Hong Kong’s worst political crisis in decades as thousands of residents of the former colony ramp up a campaign to receive full UK citizenship to secure an avenue of escape from the territory.
About 300 activists on Sunday rallied outside the British consulate to demand they receive a full UK passport in place of their “second-class” British National (Overseas) passports, a document issued to Hong Kong residents born before the handover of the territory from UK to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
About 170,000 people hold valid BNO passports, according to figures from the UK’s Home Office, but the document awards few of the entitlements of full citizenship, such as the right of abode in the UK.
“We think this is now or never. If the BNO holders lose this chance to fight for equality, we will never have another chance in history,” said Craig Choy, spokesman for campaign group Equal Rights for British National Overseas.
The demands, which have won some support in Westminster, follow escalating street protests in the territory sparked by a controversial bill that would allow Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to China.
The demonstrations have morphed into broader calls for democracy and have sparked growing fears of direct intervention in the territory by Beijing, leading more Hong Kong residents to look for alternatives countries in which to live.
The number of people in Hong Kong looking to secure residency overseasgathered pace in June, with migration consultants reporting a surge in inquiries.
Applications for Certificates of No Criminal Conviction from the Hong Kong police, often a requirement for overseas residency applications, jumped 30 per cent year on year for the period corresponding with the protests between June and August 27.
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The protesters at the UK consulate on Sunday held their BNO passports and British and Hong Kong colonial flags and chanted “let us go home” and “don’t leave us behind”.
“Hong Kong is no longer safe for us with eroding human rights,” said one of the petition organisers who goes by the name Sapphire. “We are born British, the fact that China forced their nationality on us without our consent does not change the fact that we are British.”
Tom Tugendhat, a conservative MP and chairman of the UK House of Commons’ foreign affairs committee, said he had won support from “a few” cabinet ministers for a proposal to grant BNO holders full UK citizenship.
“The idea is to give people the confidence to stay [in Hong Kong] knowing that they don’t need to make a decision now,” Mr Tugendhat said.
Mr Choy, from Equal Rights for British National Overseas, said people in Hong Kong felt increasingly desperate and viewed the protests as an “endgame”. Upgrading the rights of BNO passport holders, or expanding visa programmes for young people, would help calm the situation, he said.
A UK government spokesman said the best solution for Hong Kong and BNO holders was the “full respect for the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint Declaration”.
Dominic Raab, UK foreign secretary, earlier this month urged Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam to engage in a dialogue with protesters and emphasised the right to peaceful protest. In response, Beijing told the UK to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.
Hong Kong residents who registered for British National (Overseas) status before the handover of the territory from the UK to China in 1997 have the right to consular assistance but they are not British citizens and do not have the automatic right to live or work in the UK.
Elspeth Guild, a law professor at Queen Mary University of London, said any BNO holders in the UK who might be at risk on their return to the territory should be granted an extension of stay by the Home Office. It would be “scandalous” if the UK tried to deport them back to Hong Kong “where there is a risk that they would be persecuted”, she said.
UK risks being pulled into Hong Kong crisis over citizenship row
British MPs garner some backing for awarding holders of ‘BNO’ passports equal rights
A demonstrator holds a replica of a British National Overseas passport at a demonstration in Hong Kong in August © Bloomberg
Britain risks being pulled into Hong Kong’s worst political crisis in decades as thousands of residents of the former colony ramp up a campaign to receive full UK citizenship to secure an avenue of escape from the territory.
About 300 activists on Sunday rallied outside the British consulate to demand they receive a full UK passport in place of their “second-class” British National (Overseas) passports, a document issued to Hong Kong residents born before the handover of the territory from UK to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
About 170,000 people hold valid BNO passports, according to figures from the UK’s Home Office, but the document awards few of the entitlements of full citizenship, such as the right of abode in the UK.
“We think this is now or never. If the BNO holders lose this chance to fight for equality, we will never have another chance in history,” said Craig Choy, spokesman for campaign group Equal Rights for British National Overseas.
The demands, which have won some support in Westminster, follow escalating street protests in the territory sparked by a controversial bill that would allow Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to China.
The demonstrations have morphed into broader calls for democracy and have sparked growing fears of direct intervention in the territory by Beijing, leading more Hong Kong residents to look for alternatives countries in which to live.
The number of people in Hong Kong looking to secure residency overseasgathered pace in June, with migration consultants reporting a surge in inquiries.
Applications for Certificates of No Criminal Conviction from the Hong Kong police, often a requirement for overseas residency applications, jumped 30 per cent year on year for the period corresponding with the protests between June and August 27.
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The protesters at the UK consulate on Sunday held their BNO passports and British and Hong Kong colonial flags and chanted “let us go home” and “don’t leave us behind”.
“Hong Kong is no longer safe for us with eroding human rights,” said one of the petition organisers who goes by the name Sapphire. “We are born British, the fact that China forced their nationality on us without our consent does not change the fact that we are British.”
Tom Tugendhat, a conservative MP and chairman of the UK House of Commons’ foreign affairs committee, said he had won support from “a few” cabinet ministers for a proposal to grant BNO holders full UK citizenship.
“The idea is to give people the confidence to stay [in Hong Kong] knowing that they don’t need to make a decision now,” Mr Tugendhat said.
Mr Choy, from Equal Rights for British National Overseas, said people in Hong Kong felt increasingly desperate and viewed the protests as an “endgame”. Upgrading the rights of BNO passport holders, or expanding visa programmes for young people, would help calm the situation, he said.
A UK government spokesman said the best solution for Hong Kong and BNO holders was the “full respect for the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint Declaration”.
Dominic Raab, UK foreign secretary, earlier this month urged Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam to engage in a dialogue with protesters and emphasised the right to peaceful protest. In response, Beijing told the UK to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.
Hong Kong residents who registered for British National (Overseas) status before the handover of the territory from the UK to China in 1997 have the right to consular assistance but they are not British citizens and do not have the automatic right to live or work in the UK.
Elspeth Guild, a law professor at Queen Mary University of London, said any BNO holders in the UK who might be at risk on their return to the territory should be granted an extension of stay by the Home Office. It would be “scandalous” if the UK tried to deport them back to Hong Kong “where there is a risk that they would be persecuted”, she said.
