英國為香港居民提供公民入籍之路，激怒中國

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

HK News

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

Yew Lun Tian and William James

Reuters Fri., January 29, 2021, 12:06 a.m.

BEIJING/LONDON (Reuters) - 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.

"In doing so we have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy – values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear."

But China and the Hong Kong government hit back by saying neither would recognise the BNO passport as a valid travel document from Jan. 31

"Britain is trying to turn large numbers of Hong Kong people into second-class British citizens. This has completely changed the original nature of BNO," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular briefing.

Beijing's decision not to recognize the travel document is largely symbolic as Hong Kong residents would not normally use their BNO passports to travel to the mainland. A BNO passport holder in Hong Kong could still use their Hong Kong passport or identity card.

Beijing's imposition of a national security law in the former British colony in June last year prompted Britain to offer refuge to almost 3 million Hong Kong residents eligible for the BNO passport from Jan. 31.

The scheme, first announced last year, opens on Sunday and allows those with "British National (Overseas)" status to live, study and work in Britain for five years and eventually apply for citizenship.

BN(O) is a special status created under British law in 1987 that specifically relates to Hong Kong.

The new 250 pound ($340) visa could attract more than 300,000 people and their dependents to Britain and generate up to 2.9 billion pounds of net benefit to the British economy over the next five years, according to government forecasts.

From around midday on Sunday, eligible applicants can apply online and book an appointment to register their fingerprints at a visa application centre. From Feb. 23 some will be able to make the application via a smartphone app.

It is still highly uncertain how many people will actually take up the offer. The government estimates that 2.9 million people and a further 2.3 million dependents will be eligible to come to Britain.

Translation

北京/倫敦（路透社）- 英國上週五迎接來一項新簽證，為中國的鎮壓後, 向香港公民提供獲得國籍之途徑，但北京方面表示將不再承認向前殖民向地居民提供的特殊英國護照。

數月來，英國和中國一直在爭辯倫敦和華盛頓所說的企圖使香港持不同政見者沉默的做法，儘管北京方面表示，西方的見解因錯誤消息和帝國主義的宿醉而糊塗了。

英國表示，在中國對香港實施強硬的新安全法之後，英國正在履行對香港人的歷史性和道義上承諾。英國表示，該全法違反了1997年移交殖民地的協議條款。

總理鮑里斯·約翰遜(Boris Johnson) 在提到特殊的英國國民海外（BNO）護照時說：“我為我們給在香港的英國公民（海外）人提供了一條新途徑可在我國生活，工作和安居而感到無比自豪。”

“通過這樣做，我們尊崇我們與香港人民的深厚歷史聯繫和友誼，並且我們捍衛自由和自治 : 一個英國和香港均珍視的價值。”

但是中國和香港政府作出反擊，他們都稱自1月31日起不會承認BNO護照是有效的旅行證件。

中國外交部發言人趙立堅在例行發報會上說：“英國正試圖將大量香港人轉變為英國的二等公民。這完全改變了英國海外公民的本質。”

北京不承認旅行證件的決定在很大程度上只是像徵意義，因為香港居民通常不會使用其BNO護照去大陸旅行。在香港的BNO護照持有人仍可以使用其香港護照或身份證。

去年6月，北京對前英國殖民地實行了國家安全法，促使英國從1月31日起為近300萬符合BNO護照資格的香港居民提供庇護。

該計劃於去年首次宣布，由週日起開展，會允許具有“英國國民（海外）”身份的人在英國生活，學習和工作五年，並最終申請公民身份。

英國國民 (海外）是1987年根據英國法律設立的特殊身份，專門涉及香港。

據政府預測，新的250英鎊（340美元）簽證可吸引300,000多人及其家屬到英國，並在未來五年內為英國經濟帶來高達29億英鎊的淨收益。

從周日中午開始，符合條件的申請人可以在線申請並在簽證申請中心預約會見以註冊其指紋。從2月23日開始，有些人將能夠通過智能手機應用程式去進行申請。

有多少人會真正接受這個提議仍然有高度的不確定性。政府估計，將有290萬人和另外230萬家屬合資格來英國。

              So, it is an emergency exit for those eligible people who have no confidence in Hong Kong’s future. No one will force Hong Kong people to move to the UK, it is absolutely a personal choice for those eligible. When someone says that Britain do this for financial benefits, such as to generate up to 2.9 billion pounds of net benefit to the British economy over the next five years, is an interesting view point.