Bernard chan
Photographer: Justin Chin / Bloomberg
Photographer: Justin Chin / Bloomberg
Hong Kong is unlikely to see an exodus under the United Kingdom’s visa program for British special passport holders, said a senior government adviser, predicting that some would be compensated for arrivals from mainland China.
The number of holders of British (foreign) national passports would be “much, much less” than current estimates of about 1 million over the next five years, Executive Board coordinator Bernard Chan said on Monday. Although the former British colony has seen people flee in the past, as before their return to Chinese rule in 1997, “they either return or new immigrants are arriving,” said Chan.
There is now a large group of talented continentals to take the place of those who leave, said Chan. He described those who leave as a mix of people who do not trust China, who want a better education for their children or who “think they may not be as competitive” in an economy that values more and more workers who can help companies win business in China.
“If you look at foreign companies, they are all hiring returnees from the continent,” said Chan. “Its customers are all Chinese from the continent. Can you blame them? “
UK Grants Hong Kong inhabitants 5 passports per minute as the exodus approaches
On Sunday, the UK will begin accepting visa applications for up to 2.9 million residents and dependents eligible for the Hong Kong BNO, which together represent almost 70% of the local population. London announced the move after Beijing imposed a broad national security law in June, which the UK government called a “clear and serious violation” of the 1984 treaty that paved the way for Hong Kong’s return.
China justified security measures that prohibit subversion, terrorism, secession and collusion with foreign forces as a necessary tool to end the sometimes violent protests that hit the city in 2019, while the United Kingdom said the new law “restricts the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. ” Some pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong have called for measures to allow city residents to hold only one passport.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the security law was “on par with, if not superior to” similar legislation in the United States and urged the Biden government to do a “fair” review. “Given the extreme social unrest and violence that hit Hong Kong in 2019, the enactment of the national security law by the central authorities was necessary and rational,” she said a forum on US-China relations.
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Although Chan acknowledged that some residents had started to move, he argued that the newcomers made up for previous waves of foreign migration, such as after China’s crackdown on Tiananmen Square activists in 1989. Others returned to the city as soon as things were up. calmed down.
“At the moment, we are still in the middle of the storm – it is not a good time to assess the situation,” said Chan. “But either way, it won’t come close to the number of people projected.”
(Updates with comments by Carrie Lam in the seventh paragraph.)