China criticizes BN(O) passport visa program
Using passport as a citizenship pathway violates HK pre-handover agreement
China’s Foreign Ministry office in Hong Kong slammed the United Kingdom on Friday for interfering in China’s internal affairs by offering a path to citizenship to Hong Kong BN(O) passport holders under a new visa program.
The UK announced on Thursday that Hong Kong residents with a British National (Overseas) passport and their family members will be allowed to apply for a new kind of visa as of Jan 31.
The program, which will not have a cap on the number of participants, could earn applicants the right of abode in the country and full British citizenship. Applicants will be allowed to live and work in the country for up to five years.
The UK government said that 349,881 Hong Kong residents hold BN(O) passports as of February. An estimated 2.9 million people are eligible for BN(O) status.
In a statement, a spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said that the British government had declared to China before the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty that the UK would not confer the right of abode to Chinese citizens in Hong Kong who have BN(O) passports.
Therefore, the UK’s latest move has openly breached its commitment and grossly interfered with China’s internal affairs as a whole in violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations, the spokesperson said.
The office urged the UK to immediately correct its mistakes and “end the hypocrisy and stop political maneuvering”.
“Doomed is any attempt by the UK to meddle with Hong Kong affairs by manipulating the BN(O) issue,” the spokesperson said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a routine press briefing on Friday that as the British government has already breached its commitments on the matter, China will consider not recognizing BN(O) passports as valid travel documents.
He added that China has repeatedly made its stand clear on this issue, but the UK has insisted on hyping the issue to meddle in China’s own affairs. But the UK will only shoot itself in the foot, Zhao cautioned.
Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and a witness to the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreed that the UK had violated its pledges by making unilateral changes to the BN(O) system.
For all its high moral posturing, the UK’s true motive is to follow the United States to contain China and use Hong Kong people’s savings and labor force to help the UK cope with its post-Brexit economic predicament, he said.
Tam urged the BN(O) holders in Hong Kong to think twice before accepting the offer. They should assess the UK’s economic prospects, the terms it requires, and the treatment it offers, he added.