About 300,000 Canadian citizens living in Hong Kong and having citizenship there will no longer be able to be citizens of both Canada and China.
The move comes after the government in the region condemned the citizens there for dual nationality, which means that those holding more than one passport will not have access to consular protection unless they declare a change of nationality.
Hong Kong has long been a place where foreign nationals could come and go without much restriction, which in turn attracted international enterprises to their growing economy. Lynette Ong, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, says the move is about tightening control over what people in Hong Kong can do, especially if they are politically active.
“If they did something to break the law, but had a passport from a Western nation, they could hide in another country, which would put pressure on Hong Kong and the Chinese government,” she said. Yahoo Canada. “This is another example of the tightening of control over potentially subversive behavior in Hong Kong.”
Since the summer of 2019, there have been active protests in Hong Kong that have sometimes turned violent. The protests were the result of back pressure on the proposed Hong Kong and China extradition law, which would allow extradition to mainland China.
Ong explains that in response to the protests, Beijing launched a “very draconian” national security law last year that stalled many activities.
“It is vaguely worded and contains many things under the law, including a fight against economic freedom, freedom of the press, freedom of expression to protest. If you go to protest, you can get in trouble,” she says. “This (citizenship policy) is an extension of it.”
Min Chung Yan is a Hong Kong-born professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Social Work, with a Hong Kong ID card. He says this latest move is probably an attempt by the Chinese government to make sure they have a smooth run of business in Hong Kong.
“There has long been a saying that the anti-government movement has been orchestrated and coordinated by foreign powers in recent years,” he says. “These views of conspiracies have challenged the Chinese government to review the policy regarding the citizenship of Hong Kong people.”
Yan says this issue of dual citizenship was initially raised after the British government committed to issuing a new version of the British national overseas passport. The latest move will affect approximately 1 million people in Hong Kong who have dual citizenship. Those who were born in Hong Kong and have a different nationality will be able to stay in the region, but the only change they face is that they cannot serve for a public office.
“They will continue to enjoy the social benefits that ordinary Hong Kong residents have,” he says.
Yan says the region has issued new ID cards. If he or any other Hong Kong citizen living in Canada with a Canadian passport were to return to apply for a new one, they would have to declare a citizenship.
“If I do not declare, I will still be a Chinese citizen,” he explains. ‘If I do, the record will show that I am a Canadian, and that I have a right of abode. The only trick is that I have to visit Hong Kong every 36 months to declare my right of abode. ”