Calls for the UK to restore the right of abode to people in Hong Kong are growing as the political crisis in the former British colony escalates. As fears of direct intervention by Beijing grow, veteran pro-democracy campaigners have argued that Britain has a responsibility to protect residents who hold the passports it issued at handover.
Several hundred protestors rallied outside the British consulate on Sunday to demand they receive a full British passport, the Financial Times reported.
Prior to Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, three million people held British Dependent Territories Citizens passports, which gave them right of abode in the UK. Britain replaced these with the British Nationals (Overseas) passport, which grants the right to vote in the UK, but not the right to live or work here – earning the BN(O) the nickname “Britain says No”. Craig Choy, a lawyer who has helped to lead the campaign for equal rights for BN(O) holders has compared the stripping of rights to the Windrush scandal.
Several hundred protestors rallied outside the British consulate on Sunday to demand they receive a full British passport, the Financial Times reported.
Prior to Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, three million people held British Dependent Territories Citizens passports, which gave them right of abode in the UK. Britain replaced these with the British Nationals (Overseas) passport, which grants the right to vote in the UK, but not the right to live or work here – earning the BN(O) the nickname “Britain says No”. Craig Choy, a lawyer who has helped to lead the campaign for equal rights for BN(O) holders has compared the stripping of rights to the Windrush scandal.
