China to no longer recognise British passport for HK residents

BEIJING • China has said it will "no longer recognise" the British National (Overseas) passport for Hong Kongers, as Britain prepares to offer millions of former colonial subjects a way to escape Beijing's crackdown on dissent.

From tomorrow, those with a BN(O) passport and their dependants will be able to apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in Britain.

After five years, they can apply for citizenship.

The new immigration scheme is a response to Beijing's decision to impose a sweeping national security law on the city last year to snuff out huge and often violent democracy protests.

Britain accused China of tearing up its promise ahead of Hong Kong's 1997 handover that the financial hub would maintain key liberties and autonomy for 50 years. It argues it has a moral duty to protect its former subjects.

Yesterday, Beijing hit back ahead of the upcoming change.

"From Jan 31, China will no longer recognise the so-called BN(O) passport as a travel document and ID, and reserves the right to take further actions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.

It is unclear what China's declaration means in practical terms.

But it sets the stage for further confrontation with London, and the threat of further action suggests Beijing may be preparing more restrictions for BN(O) holders down the line.

Chinese officials warned last year that they might consider ending recognition of BN(O) passports. At the time, they said it would mean BN(O) holders being unable to travel to the Chinese mainland.

However, it is unclear whether the Chinese authorities would know who holds the document.

Hong Kongers use their own Hong Kong passport or ID card to leave the city. To enter mainland China, they need to use their Hong Kong passport or a mainland travel permit.

The only time they might use a BN(O) passport is on arrival in Britain or another country that recognises the document.

"It's a strong message sent to the UK and other countries not to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, but in practical terms, I don't think people would be intimidated into not applying," Professor Willy Lam, an expert at Hong Kong's Centre for China Studies, told Agence France-Presse.

"There seems to be no way that the Hong Kong or Beijing authorities can find out who might or might not apply for the BN(O) passport because the British Consulate would not reveal their identity," he added.

How many Hong Kongers will take up the offer remains to be seen, especially as the coronavirus pandemic restricts global flights and mires much of the world, including Britain, in an economic malaise.

But a BN(O) passport is available to a huge number of people - about 70 per cent of Hong Kong's total population of 7.5 million.

Applications for BN(O) passports have skyrocketed more than 300 per cent since the national security law was imposed last July, with 733,000 registered holders as of the middle of this month.

Britain predicts that up to 154,000 Hong Kongers could arrive over the next year and as many as 322,000 over five years, bringing an estimated "net benefit" of up to £2.9 billion (S$5.3 billion) with them.

On Thursday, Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam played down the threat of a mass exodus and questioned whether residents would want to give up local healthcare for Britain's pandemic-strained National Health Service.

"I just don't see how 2.9 million Hong Kong people would love to go to the United Kingdom," she told Bloomberg, using the figure for the number of people eligible for BN(O) status that does not include their dependants.

"The important thing is for us to tell the people of Hong Kong that Hong Kong's future is bright," she added.

The BN(O) passport was a compromise with China ahead of Hong Kong's handover.

Many Hong Kongers wanted British citizenship, something Beijing baulked at.

So Britain instead allowed anyone born before 1997 to stay in Britain for six months at a time, but with no working or settling rights.

Now, it has become one of the few ways out for Hong Kongers hoping to start a new life overseas, as the authorities conduct mass arrests of democracy supporters and move to purge the restless city of dissenting views.

Mrs Lam said in the Bloomberg interview that "worries about street violence and social unrest and intimidation have subsided very significantly".

Passport applications surged after the Hong Kong security law's passage. Some 7,000 Hong Kong residents with BN(O) status and their dependants secured permission to stay between July and January, Britain said.

When Britain starts accepting special visa applications from Hong Kong residents tomorrow, Mr Chen will be among the first in line.

The 40-year-old former Airbnb host believes time is running out as local officials urge action to discourage people from relocating to their former colonial homeland.

"If we don't leave now, we may never be able to leave again," said Mr Chen, who asked not to be identified by his full name due to fear of reprisal by the government.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG