Thousands of Hong Kong people have been fleeing their hometown since Beijing imposed a strict national security law on the territory last summer
HONG KONG – Thousands of Hong Kong residents have already made the sometimes painful decision to leave their hometown behind and move to Britain since Beijing imposed a strict national security law on Chinese territory last summer. Their number is expected to increase to hundreds of thousands.
Some are leaving because they fear being punished for supporting the pro-democracy protests that swept the former British colony in 2019. Others say the invasion of China in their way of life and civil liberties has become unbearable and they want to seek a better future for their children abroad. Most say they do not plan to return.
Changes are expected to accelerate now that 5 million Hong Kong residents can apply for visas to Britain, allowing them to live, work and study there and eventually apply to become British citizens. British National Overseas visa applications officially opened on Sunday, although many have already arrived on British soil to begin with.
The British government said some 7,000 people with national British passports abroad – a travel document that Hong Kong residents could apply for before the city was handed over to Chinese control in 1997 – arrived since July on a six-month visa earlier allowed. He estimates that more than 300,000 people will accept the offer of extended residence rights over the next five years.
“Before the announcement of the BN (O) visa in July, we didn’t have many questions about immigration in the UK, perhaps less than 10 per 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 a visa and move to Leeds with his wife and daughter in April.
His motivation to leave Hong Kong came after the city’s political situation deteriorated after anti-government protests and he realized that the city’s police force was not politically neutral. The police have been criticized by advocates of democracy for brutality and the use of excessive violence.
Mike said the move to Britain is important as he believes the educational system in Hong Kong will be affected by the political situation and that 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 first name, for fear of official retaliation.
Lo said that with the new visa, the entry barrier to moving to the UK becomes extremely low, with no language qualification or education requirements. British National Overseas passport holders must prove that they have enough money to stay for six months and prove that they are free from tuberculosis, according to the UK government.
Lo currently assists three to four families a week in his move to the UK. About 60% of them are families with young children, while the rest are young couples or young professionals.
Cindy, a Hong Kong businesswoman and mother of two young children, arrived in London last week.
In Hong Kong, she had a comfortable lifestyle. She owned several properties with her husband and the business she ran was doing well. But she decided to leave it all behind, as she felt the freedoms and freedoms of the city were eroding and she wanted to guarantee a good future for her children.
Cindy, who spoke on condition that she was identified only by her first name out of concern for official retaliation, said it was important to act quickly, as she feared Beijing would soon act to stop the exodus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that the visa offer shows that Britain is honoring its “deep history ties” with Hong Kong, which was handed over to China on the understanding that it would maintain its Western-style freedoms and much of its political autonomy, not seen in mainland China.
Beijing said on Friday that it would no longer recognize the British passport abroad as a travel document or form of identification and criticized the offer of British citizenship as a measure that “seriously infringed” China’s sovereignty. It was not clear what effect the ad would have, because many Hong Kong citizens carry several passports.
Beijing dramatically toughened its position in Hong Kong after the 2019 protests turned violent and plunged the city into a crisis of months. Since the enactment of the security law, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and young movement leaders have been arrested or fled abroad.
As 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 messages on social media – could get them into trouble.
“This is a really unique wave of emigration – some people have not had time to actually visit the country they are moving to. Many have no experience of living abroad, ”said Miriam Lo, who runs Excelsior UK, a relocation agency. “And because of the pandemic, they were unable to even come to see a house before deciding to buy it.”
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Hui reported from London.