Thousands of Hong Kong people are fleeing their hometowns since Beijing imposed a strict national security law on the territory last summer.
HONG KONG – Thousands of Hong Kongers have made the sometimes painful decision to leave their hometowns and move to Britain since Beijing imposed a strict national security law on Chinese soil last summer. Their number is expected to increase to hundreds of thousands.
Some are leaving because they fear punishment for supporting the pro-democracy protests that engulfed the former British colony in 2019. Others say China’s encroachment on their way of life and civil liberties has become unbearable, and they want to find a better future for their children abroad. Most say they have no intention of ever going back.
The move is expected to accelerate now that 5 million Hong Kongers are eligible to apply for visas to Britain, allowing them to live, work and study there and ultimately apply to become a British citizen. Applications for the British National Overseas Visa officially opened on Sunday, although many have already arrived on UK soil to get a head start.
The UK government said that about 7,000 people with British overseas national passports – a travel document that Hong Kongers could apply for before the city was handed over to Chinese control in 1997 – have arrived since July on the previously authorized six-month visa. It estimates that over 300,000 people will accept the offer of extended residency rights over the next five years.
“Before the announcement of the BN (O) visa in July, we didn’t have many questions about UK immigration, maybe less than 10 a month,” said Andrew Lo, founder of Anlex Immigration Consultants in Hong Kong. “Now we get about 10 to 15 calls a day asking about it.”
Mike, a photojournalist, said he plans to apply for the visa and move to Leeds with his wife and young daughter in April.
His motivation to leave Hong Kong came after the city’s political situation deteriorated after the anti-government protests, and he realized that the city’s police were not politically neutral. The police have been criticized by pro-democracy supporters for cruelty and the use of excessive force.
Mike said moving to Britain was important because he believed that the education system in Hong Kong will be affected by the political situation and it will be better for his daughter to study in the UK.
Mike agreed to speak on the condition that he be identified only by his first name for fear of official retaliation.
Lo said that with the new visa, the barrier to entry to move to the UK will be extremely low, with no language or educational qualification requirements. Holders of a British Overseas National Passport must prove that they have enough money to support themselves for six months and must prove that they are free from tuberculosis, the British government said.
Lo currently helps three to four families a week move to the UK. About 60% of these are families with young children, while the remaining are young couples or young professionals.
Cindy, a Hong Kong businesswoman and mother of two young children, arrived in London last week.
She lived comfortably in Hong Kong. She owned several properties with her husband and the business she ran was doing well. But she decided to put it all behind, feeling that the freedoms and freedoms of the city were crumbling and she wanted to ensure a good future for her children.
Cindy, who spoke on the condition that she would only be identified by her first name out of concerns about official retaliation, said it was important to act quickly as she feared Beijing would move quickly to stop the exodus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that the visa offer shows that Britain respects its “deep history” with Hong Kong, which was handed over to China on the understanding that it would not retain its Western-style freedoms and much of its political autonomy. seen in mainland China.
Beijing said Friday that it will no longer recognize the UK overseas national passport as a travel document or form of identification, criticizing the UK citizenship offer as a move that “seriously infringed” China’s sovereignty. It was unclear what effect the announcement would have, as many Hong Kongers carry multiple passports.
Beijing has drastically hardened its stance on Hong Kong after the 2019 protests turned violent and plunged the city into a months-long crisis. Since the enactment of the security law, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and the young leaders of the movement have either been imprisoned or fled abroad.
Because the new law broadly defined acts of subversion, secession, foreign collusion and terrorism, many in Hong Kong fear that expressing any form of political opposition – even posting on social media – could get them into trouble.
“This is a truly unique wave of emigration: some people have not had time to actually visit the country they are moving to. Many have no experience living abroad, ”said Miriam Lo, who heads Excelsior UK, a relocation agency. “And because of the pandemic, they couldn’t even come over to see a house before they decided to buy.”
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Hui reported from London.