Thousands of Hong Kong people flee their hometown since Beijing imposed a strict national security law on the territory last summer
HONG KONG – Thousands of Hong Kongers have already made the sometimes painful decision to leave their hometowns behind and move to the UK 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 punishment for supporting the pro-democracy protests that swept the former British colony in 2019. Others say China’s invasion of their way of life and civil liberties has become unbearable and they want to look for a better future for their children. abroad. Most say they never intend to return.
Movements are expected to accelerate now that 5 million Hong Kong citizens are eligible to apply for visas in the UK, allowing them to live, work and study there, and eventually apply to become British citizens. Applications for a British national overseas visa officially opened on Sunday, although many have already arrived in Britain to begin.
The UK government says about 7,000 people with British overseas national passports – a travel document Hong Kong could apply for before the city is handed over to Chinese control in 1997 – arrived in July with a six-month visa. previously allowed. It is estimated that over 300,000 people will take over the offer of extended residence rights in the next five years.
“Before the BN (O) visa was announced in July, we did not have many immigration surveys in the UK, maybe 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 for leaving Hong Kong came after the city’s political situation deteriorated following anti-government protests and he realized that the city’s police force was not politically neutral. Police have been criticized by pro-democracy supporters for brutality and the use of excessive violence.
Mike said moving to the UK is important because he believed the Hong Kong education system would be affected by the political situation and it would be better for his daughter to study in the UK.
Mike agreed to speak on condition that he be identified only by his first name, only for fear of official retaliation.
Lo said that with the new visa, the barrier to entry into the UK becomes extremely low, with no language or educational qualification requirements. Holders of British national overseas passports must prove they have enough money to support themselves for six months and prove that they are free of tuberculosis, according to the British government.
Lo currently assists three to four families a week in moving to the UK. About 60% of them are families with small 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.
He had a comfortable lifestyle in Hong Kong. She owned several properties with her husband, and the business she ran was going well. But she decided to leave everything behind because she felt that the freedoms and liberties of the city were eroding and she wanted to ensure a good future for her children.
Cindy, who spoke on condition that she be identified only by her first name because of concerns about official retaliation, said it was important to move quickly because she feared Beijing would move soon 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 has been handed over to China on the understanding that it will retain its Western-style freedoms and much of its political autonomy. not seen on mainland China.
Beijing said on Friday it would no longer recognize Britain’s overseas national passport as a travel document or form of identification and criticized Britain’s offer of citizenship as a measure that “seriously violated” China’s sovereignty. It was not clear what effect the announcement would have, as many in Hong Kong have multiple passports.
Beijing has drastically strengthened its position on Hong Kong after the 2019 protests became violent and plunged the city into a crisis of several months. Since the adoption 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 generally 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 put them in 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 runs Excelsior UK, a relocation agency. “And because of the pandemic, they couldn’t even come and see a house before they decided to buy.”
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Hui reported from London.