Let migrants from Hong Kong lead a new era of enterprise in Britain

sir – Matthew Lynn (Business, May 30) is right. We should definitely grant a full British passport to the 300,000 Hong Kong people who currently have a British National (Overseas) passport.

But we should go much further. We should set aside an area the size of Hong Kong as a new enterprise zone, with tax breaks and grants for Hong Kong businesses and British investors prepared to back them.

Let’s sow the seeds for a new Hong Kong – perhaps on the Isle of Wight?

Peter Wiltshire

Sandown, Isle of Wight

sir – The Foreign Secretary is right to offer a visa lifeline to Hong Kong BN(O) passport holders.

However, broadening the rules to the extent that he is suggesting could lead to an open-ended commitment to hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

A better approach would be to be selective, as Canada was after the handover, when it accepted a few thousand Hong Kong entrepreneurs with “innovator” visas. Bursaries could be offered under such a scheme for those to whom our Government owes a specific debt of gratitude.

Rupert Gather

Chairman, Investuk (Group) Limited London W1

sir – Democratic nations voice “concerns” but continue to do business with the brutal Chinese state, whose new law for Hong Kong is a serious threat to democratic freedom.

Smart technology is reliant on rare-earth metals. China produces 80 per cent of these. Surely the West’s key players in technology should start trying to find alternatives, for 5G too, thus reducing our reliance on the communist state. At the very least, our Government should cancel its contract with Huawei.

Simon Lever

Winchester, Hampshire

sir – In the Seventies, a large proportion of the Indian community in East Africa came to Britain, as “Africanisation” swept across that region. My family was one of those who landed at Heathrow in 1972.

There are several parallels with the situation in Hong Kong. The strongest I can see between the potential migrants from Hong Kong and the East African Asians is socio-economic. Both communities value education, tend to be entrepreneurial and have cultures centred on family values. They also have a prior understanding of Britain: the law, governance, ethos of free trade, and language.

One statistic I am always struck by is that over 90 per cent of the City of London is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. The entrepreneurial nature of Britain allowed East African Indians to thrive, and I believe it would allow migrants from Hong Kong to do the same.

The steps the British Government is taking are welcome – and a sign that we haven’t forgotten our values.

Shravan Joshi

Member, Court of Common Council City of London Corporation London EC2