LONDON: Hong Kong expatriates living in Britain have welcomed London's pledge of"a pathway to future citizenship" for millions of the territory's residents after China imposed aBut they warned this"message of hope" would not help many, including those born after Hong Kong's 1997 return to Chinese rule and now aged over 18 – people at the forefront of protests against Beijing.
Beijing enacted the sweeping security law for the restless city of around 7.5 million people on Jun 30, banning acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.The UK has said in response it will allow anyone with British National status and their dependants – husbands, wives, civil partners and children under 18 years old – to come to Britain.
But it conferred no automatic right to citizenship, could only be applied for before the end of 1997 and cannot be passed on to future generations. Secondary school students march near a school campus to protest against a teacher's release over 'her political beliefs' as they said, in Hong Kong, Jun 12, 2020. "These generations have suffered the most throughout the years and now they are the main target of the government.
"Social media such as Facebook has been flooded with questions regarding working in the UK," he added, noting it reflected"how anxious and hopeless Hong Kongers are at the moment".Yau said she too had been contacted by friends asking about life in Britain, and argued the new arrivals"could be an unbelievably valuable workforce for the UK post-Brexit".
"Immigrating to would mean restarting a new life as second-class citizens, and their social status might be dropped if they are not professional or wealthy."
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