By Rachel Wong
https://hongkongfp.com/author/rachelwong/
The Hong Kong government says it “deplores” and opposes the UK government’s decision to offer citizenship to Hongkongers with British National (Overseas) passports.
The statement came after the UK Home Office laid out pathways for the three million BN(O) passport holders in Hong Kong and their dependants to obtain citizenship. The UK’s home secretary Priti Patel wrote in a policy statemen ton Wednesday that the scheme was a “proportionate response to the situation which has arisen.”
The UK’s offer follows the enactment of a broad-ranging national security in Hong Kong which criminalises subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers.
The Hong Kong government criticised the move in a statement on Thursday night: “The high-profile measures taken by the UK Government on the pretext of the National Security Law are purely made out of political maneuver. They not only seriously violate the UK’s own pledge, but also seriously interfere in the affairs of the HKSAR.”
https://hongkongfp.com/2020/07/24/security-law-govt-deplores-uks-move-to-offer-hongkongers-path-to-british-citizenship/