Last year, China introduced comprehensive national security legislation to Hong Kong that critics say has stripped the city of its autonomy and precious civil and social freedoms while reaffirming Beijing’s authoritarian rule over the area. Since then, many prominent activists and politicians have fled, while others have quietly begun arranging to move overseas.
The law punishes segregation, undermining and collusion with foreign powers, and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
According to data from the British Home Office, obtained by CNN through a request for freedom of information, since July 2019, when protests against the government broke out in the city, more than 400,000 BN (O) passports were issued to residents of Hong Kong, more than the total number issued for the previous 15 years.
At the time of the proposal for the National Security Act, the number of passports issued rose from 7,515 in June 2020 to more than 24,000 in July. These numbers may also be lower than the number of people applying, as the coronavirus pandemic apparently affected passport processing last year.
China has reacted angrily to the proposed plan, claiming that it violates the agreement under which Hong Kong was transferred from the British government to the Chinese government, which according to London is again undermining the national security law.
At a regular press conference on Friday, Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accused the UK of ‘disregarding the fact that Hong Kong was 24 years back to the motherland’ and the promises made during the handover. has, transgressed.
He said the BN (O) path to citizenship “seriously violates China’s sovereignty, grossly interferes with Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, and seriously violates international law and basic norms of international relations.”
As of January 31, Zhao said, China would no longer recognize BN (O) passports as travel documents or proof of identity, “and reserves the right to take further action.”
Such a move would not have much practical effect, as Hong Kong residents, whether foreign or Chinese, use locally issued identification cards to enter or leave the area, and also for most identification purposes. Anyone who is eligible for a BN (O) passport is also entitled to apply for a Hong Kong passport and can already own it, which can also be used for these purposes.
BN (O) passports have never been accepted for travel to mainland China, where Hong Kong residents use a “return permit” along with their Hong Kong identification card or passport.
Given the limited scope of this immediate response, activists have suggested that further steps could be taken, especially if a large number of people leave Hong Kong in the coming months.
“Thereafter, Hong Kong Chinese who voluntarily acquire a foreign nationality shall be deemed to have lost Chinese nationality, in accordance with Article 9 of the Chinese Nationality Act,” Ip said. ‘When they make a conscious decision to leave and give up Hong Kong by implication, it’s only right that they should be asked to make their choice – China or a foreign country – foreign citizenship or residence and the right to vote in Hong Kong . ‘
BN (O) containers may also not be the only people leaving. Around the time of the 1997 handover, many Hong Kongers acquired foreign citizenship, especially in the Commonwealth countries such as Canada and Australia, which at the time had generous immigration policies.
In December 2020, former lawmaker Ted Hui dramatically fled Hong Kong using a fake environmental conference to set up bail and has now sought asylum in the UK. Nathan Law, a leading former lawmaker and leader of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, also sought asylum there, while others sought protection in Germany, the US and Australia.
Escaping overseas is not always the same freedom: legislation and other exiles have complained that they are being teased and even harassed by people they say are agents of the Chinese government, Beijing officials have denied. They are also limited in the communication they can have with family and friends in Hong Kong, for fear that they will get into trouble with the authorities.
Although most BN (O) containers living in the UK are unlikely to be monitored in this way, the intense political environment surrounding the new scheme may make it difficult for those who decide to return to the scheme. do not want to stay in Britain.
Ray Wong, an activist who fled to Germany in 2017 and became one of the first Hong Kongers to be granted asylum in Europe, told CNN last year that he “basically missed everything in Hong Kong”.
“I miss it surrounded by people from Hong Kong, surrounded by Cantonese-speaking people,” he said. “I miss even the very unpleasant climate.”
CNN’s Jenni Marsh and Angela Dewan reported.