British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he will suggest millions of Hong Kong residents with passports and the possibility of obtaining British citizenship if China insists on enforcing its law on national security in the region.
Johnson said in an article published in the Times and the South China Morning Post: “Many in Hong Kong fear that their way of life will be threatened. We will respect our duties and offer an alternative. "
Johnson added that about 350,000 people in Hong Kong currently hold a "British Overseas Passport" that allows entry into the UK without a visa for up to six months, and an additional 2.5 million people will be eligible to apply for this document that has been granted to residents Former British colony when returned to China.
The law on national security, which the Chinese People's National Assembly has approved the principle of imposing but has not yet ended, provides penalties for separatist, "terrorist", sabotage and foreign activities in the semi-autonomous Chinese region.
"If China imposes its national security law, the British government will change its immigration legislation and allow anyone holding these passports and residing in Hong Kong to come to the United Kingdom for a period of 12 months, renewable and granting more rights, including the right to work that could place it," Johnson said. On the path of citizenship. "