British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday vowed to provide a path to citizenship for the people of Hong Kong, as China gears up to impose a controversial national security law on the city.
China’s legislature last week moved forward with the law on Hong Kong that would allow Chinese intelligence and security forces to be based inside the district for the first time, and seeks to address terrorism, secession and foreign interference in the city.
Critics of the legislation, which include the U.S. and U.K., have claimed that it will erode Hong Kong’s freedoms granted under a 1997 treaty between Britain and China that bound Beijing’s communist rulers to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy as a special administrative region and to leave its liberal economy and government for 50 years under the formulation “one country, two systems.”
In a Wednesday op-ed in The London Times, Mr. Johnson said the law “would curtail [Hong Kong’s] freedoms and dramatically erode its autonomy. If China proceeds, this would be in direct conflict with its obligations under the joint declaration, a legally binding treaty registered with the United Nations.”
He explained that if China moves forward with the implementation of the law, “Britain would then have no choice but to uphold our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong.”
Mr. Johnson said that the British government is ready to modify the country’s immigration rules to allow a British passport holder from Hong Kong additional rights to work and pave a path toward citizenship.
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About 350,000 citizens of Hong Kong currently hold British National passports that allow for visa-free access to the U.K. for six months, and another 2.5 million would be eligible to apply for them. Mr. Johnson said under the modified rules, these passport holders would be allowed a renewable 12-month access to the U.K
“This would amount to one of the biggest changes in our visa system in history,” the prime minister said. “If it proves necessary, the British government will take this step and take it willingly.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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