China blocks UK Hong Kong visas

SINO-BRITISH relations have been dealt a fresh blow after the Chinese government announced it will no longer recognise the British National (Overseas) passport as a valid travel document or form of identification. The decision was announced days before a new visa route for Hong Kong nationals looking to move to the UK is due to open. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the visa scheme which was announced in the wake of Beijing’s national security law being imposed on Hong Kong last year - honours the “profound ties of history and friendship” between the UK and its former colony. Under the scheme, Hong Kong residents and their dependents would be offered a route to residency and eventual citizenship in the UK, with an estimated 300,000 Hongkongers expected to take advantage of it. But the announcement by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian throws new uncertainty around the plan just hours after the UK said it would begin taking applications for BN(O) visas from Sunday.Mr Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing: “The British side’s attempt to turn a large number of Hong Kong people into second-class British citizens has completely changed the nature of the two sides’ original understanding of BN(O). This move seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty, grossly interferes in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, and seriously violates international law.”