HONG KONG (Reuters) – Nathan Law, a Democratic activist in Hong Kong, says he was granted political asylum in Britain, where he arrived in July last year after Beijing introduced a comprehensive national security law in his hometown that was strongly opposed by the West has been criticized.
The move will certainly increase tensions between London and Beijing as Britain opens its doors to potentially more than five million Hong Kong residents following the controversial security legislation.
“After several interviews in four months, the Home Office informed me that my asylum application had been approved,” Law said on Twitter late Wednesday.
“The fact that I am being sought under national security legislation shows that I am being subjected to serious political persecution and is unlikely to return to Hong Kong without risk.”
Britain on Thursday pledged £ 43 million ($ 59 million) to help them attract and attract Hong Kong residents, to help them find jobs, homes and schools based on the initiative that could resettle millions.
Britain accused China of multiple violations of an agreement in which the semi-autonomous city was transferred to China in 1997. China’s security legislation and efforts to disqualify pro-democracy legislators are said to have undermined Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.
Officials in Hong Kong and Beijing said the law was crucial to include holes in the defense of national security exposed to months of often violent protests in 2019. China has repeatedly urged Western powers to stop doing business of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has become the fifth largest foreign investor in central London since August last year, raising prices in some popular districts outside the British capital.
London estimates that more than 300,000 Hong Kong residents could emigrate over the next five years, and Bank of America expects Hong Kong residents moving to Britain to cause $ 36 billion in capital outflows by 2021.
Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Edited by Stephen Coates