Michael Taube:
Boris Johnson’s announcement that roughly 3 million Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) passport holders will be granted an immediate route to UK citizenship if China goes ahead with its repressive new national security law deserves to be applauded.
Yes, this would mean a huge one-off influx of immigrants to the UK. But rather than a worry, you should firmly view it as a great benefit. I believe Hong Kongers would succeed in your country just as they have in mine.
Although Hong Kongers have been moving to Canada since at least the 19th century, a huge immigration wave started in the late 1980s. The stunning images of protesters standing off against the military in Tiananmen Square were fresh in their minds. Many were fearful China would start cracking down on their country when the 99-year lease with the UK ended in 1997.
Lots of Hong Kongers have a genuine affinity for Canadians, who bravely helped them fight against Japan during the Second World War. In the Eighties they began to settle primarily in major cities such as Toronto (where I live) and Vancouver, and by the mid-1990s 380,000 Hong Kongers were living across the country.
They played a significant role in developing, building and enhancing Canada’s economic engine. They bought large swathes of property in cities for accommodation and investment purposes. Their hard work helped to revive neglected areas and to establish new ones, as they cleaned up dilapidated communities, built bustling businesses and cultural hubs, and invested in key financial projects that created economic opportunities and new jobs. Their children excelled in education and many went on to attend Canada’s top schools and universities.
Above all, Hong Kongers successfully integrated into Canadian society. They became our friends, neighbours, colleagues and, in some cases, family members. They loved Canada as much as we did and worked hard to help build our great country.
The roll call of Canadians of Hong Kong descent who have risen to prominence in our country is testament to this. They include Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr Theresa Tam, who has headed our response to Covid-19, the racing driver Adderly Fong, accomplished businessmen like Thomas Fung, and even federal politicians such as the MP Jenny Kwan.
When Hong Kong’s status as a British crown colony ended, some Canadian Hong Kongers moved back to see if they could work with China. Citizenship numbers dipped to 241,095 in 1996 and then went into the low 200,000s. But, as many had predicted, the Chinese experiment of “one country, two systems” was an abysmal failure – and Hong Kongers have started returning to Canada.
The UK won’t experience this. If and when Hong Kong BNO passport holders arrive on your shores, they won’t be returning anytime soon, if ever again. But they will bring an industrious spirit, a drive to achieve success, a healthy respect for capitalism and free markets, and a desire to champion democracy and liberty to the UK, just as they did in Canada.
Take it from me, you should embrace it.
Michael Taube is a Troy Media syndicated columnist and was a speechwriter for former Canadian PM Stephen Harper
follow Michael Taube on Twitter @michaeltaube; read more at telegraph.co.uk/opinion