Beijing’s fury at Britain’s HK offer

HONG KONG: A new visa scheme offering millions of Hong Kongers a pathway to British citizenship went live overnight as the city’s former colonial master opened its doors to those wanting to escape China’s crackdown on dissent.

Anyone with a British National (Overseas) passport and their dependants will now be able to apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in the United Kingdom. After five years, they can apply for citizenship.

The immigration scheme is a response to Beijing’s decision last year to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong to snuff out huge democracy protests.

Britain has accused China of tearing up its promise ahead of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover that the financial hub would maintain key liberties and autonomy for 50 years.

London argued it has a moral duty to protect its former colonial subjects.

“We have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week.

China has reacted with fury to the visa offer, announcing BN(O) passports would no longer be recognised as a legitimate travel or ID document.

The move was largely symbolic as Hong Kongers tend to

use their own passports or ID cards to leave the city.

But Beijing said it was prepared to take “further measures”, raising fears authorities might try to stop Hong Kongers from leaving for Britain.

In a commentary on Sunday, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency accused Britain of having a “colonial mentality”, warning the visa scheme would damage “bilateral ties and further hurt Britain’s own long-term interests”.

It is not clear how many Hong Kongers will take up the offer, but it is available to about 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population.

Applications for BN(O) passports have risen more than 300 per cent since the national security law was imposed last July, with 733,000 registered holders as of mid-January.

Britain predicts up to 154,000 Hong Kongers could arrive over the next year and 322,000 over five years, bringing an estimated “net benefit” of up to £2.9bn ($5.3bn).