UK offers Hong Kong residents a route to citizenship, angering China

cde.news desk 29 January 2021, 15:50 · 1 min read

epa08032729 Pro-democracy protesters carry British flags during a rally in support of Simon Cheng, outside of the UK Consulate in Hong Kong, China, 29 November 2019. Simon Cheng, a former British consulate worker, was detained for 15 days on a trip to mainland China in August where Cheng alleged he was forced to 'confess' to soliciting prostitution. EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE

Britain on Friday hailed a new visa offering Hong Kong citizens a route to citizenship after China’s crackdown but Beijing said it would no longer recognise special British passports offered to residents of the former colony.

Britain and China have been bickering for months about what London and Washington say is an attempt to silence dissent in Hong Kong, though Beijing says the West’s views are clouded by misinformation and an imperial hangover.

Britain says it is fulfilling a historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong after China imposed a tough new security law on the city that Britain says breaches the terms of agreements to hand the colony back in 1997.

“I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BN(O)s to live, work and make their home in our country,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, referring to a special British National Overseas (BNO) passport.

via Reuters

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UK offers Hong Kong residents a route to citizenship, angering China

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