Hong Kong sees rush to renew U.K. passports

HONG KONG — When Ming Wong saw that Britain was prepared to offer extended visa rights and a “path to citizenship” for British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders in Hong Kong, she seized the moment and reapplied for her lost passport.

Beijing’s push to impose national security laws in the former British colony has stoked worry about its future and prompted Britain to offer refuge to almost 3 million Hong Kong residents eligible for the passport.

“I started filling out the applications in December after the protests, but it’s the national security legislation now that really prompted me to finish the process,” said 39-yearold Wong who has two small children.

Her husband, brother and parents are also applying, she said.

The BNO passport was created for Hong Kong people before Britain returned the territory to Chinese rule in 1997. Though they are British passports that allow a holder to visit Britain for six months, they do not come with an automatic right to live and work there.

But British foreign minister Dominic Raab said the sixmonth limit could be removed if China imposed its national security legislation on the city.

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities reject criticism of the legislation, which they say is aimed at tackling sedition, secession, terrorism and foreign interference, and insist the city’s high degree of autonomy will remain intact under the “one country, two systems” formula established in 1997.

The formula guarantees freedoms, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary, not seen on the mainland. But Beijing’s insistence on its national security laws has thrown the future of those freedoms into question.

“The national security law is about to be implemented but the details have not yet been confirmed so I want to apply for it before anything happens,” said Don Wong, 35, who works in a government organisation.