UK panned over BNO perfidy
Britain misleading HKSAR people for political purposes, violating a pre-handover commitment, say officials
The central government’s top body overseeing Hong Kong affairs voiced strong objections to the United Kingdom on Jan 31 for breaking its promise on the British National Overseas passport with a plan to grant BNO passport holders immediate UK citizenship.
The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said in a statement that the UK has clearly violated its pledge as made in a memorandum before HKSAR’s return to China.
The office said the Chinese and British governments reached consensus long ago on how to deal with the issue of Hong Kong residents holding BNO passports and exchanged memorandums on the understanding in 1984.
In its memorandum, the UK clearly pledged not to confer the right to abode in the UK on holders of the BNO passport who are Chinese nationals in Hong Kong.
Following the latest development, the central government and SAR government announced on Jan 29 that BNO passports would not be recognized as a valid travel document or proof of identity in China as of Jan 31.
Since last year, the UK — in violation of norms that govern international relations — has spared no effort to stop the legislation and implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, according to the statement from the office.
The office said the citizenship decision is another attempt by the UK to interfere after its futile attempts failed.
The office stressed that the Chinese government stands firm in strictly enforcing the security law and reserves the right to increase countermeasures for breach of agreement.
In a separate statement by the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Jan 31, a spokesperson for the office criticized the UK for using the BNO as a political maneuver under the pretext of the National Security Law for Hong Kong.
The UK has further expanded the scope of the BNO passports in an attempt to turn a large number of Hong Kong people into “secondclass British citizens”, the spokesperson said. Granting BNO passport holders citizenship in the UK has completely altered the nature of the BNO passport as it was originally understood by China and the UK.
The office stressed that it is legitimate for China to take countermeasures since the UK broke its promise.
Over the weekend, political heavyweights in Hong Kong said BNO passport holders who opt for UK citizenship through the UK decision may lose their permanent residency in the city.
Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the nation’s top legislature, said China has made its stance clear by denying the validity of the BNO passport as a travel and identification document.
This does not rule out further action in the future, such as depriving Chinese nationality or permanent residency for Hong Kong residents who choose to apply for UK citizenship, he said.
Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, warned that those who obtain UK citizenship through the decision could risk losing their permanent residency or Hong Kong resident identity status.
Deprived of those, they would not be entitled to an array of political rights and social benefits that local residents have, he said.
Lau also cautioned that with China no longer recognizing BNO passports, those who obtain UK passports under the decision could be denied entry into the Chinese mainland as their UK passports may not be recognized as well.
Hong Kong’s immigration department said on Jan 31 that inbound and outbound Hong Kong passengers are required to present their HKSAR passports or permanent identity cards as identity proof upon boarding.