As plans to make it easier for British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders in Hong Kong to move to the UK are about to begin, Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is leading the plan, met with former Hong Kong House of Representatives chairman Law Kwun-chung and the sister of Lee Yu-hin, one of the 12 Hong Kong people arrested by China for smuggling people into Taiwan, in London.
This is the first time since Lo arrived in the UK in July that he has met with officials, and it is even rarer for non-officials to meet with cabinet officials. He said on social media after the meeting that the opportunity to meet was valuable and the dialogue was constructive. He also thanked the British government on behalf of Hong Kong people for providing the BNO scheme at a critical moment, which saved some Hong Kong people from political suppression, and hoped to strive to meet with more British cabinet officials in the future, so that the international community could better understand the expansion of the Chinese Communist Party’s authority and protect democracy.
The two sides did not say whether they had talked about extending the BNO scheme to other Hong Kong people without BNO status, which was granted to Hong Kong people when Britain withdrew from Hong Kong in 1997 and does not give holders the right of abode in Britain but allows them to enter for six months without a visa. But many of the young people who participated in last year’s anti-amendment campaign were born after 1997 and are not eligible to apply for BNO, and there are voices asking the UK to extend the plan to these people who are not eligible for BNO.
The meeting was also attended by Beatrice, the sister of Hong Kong Story member Lee Yu-hin, one of the 12 Hong Kong people arrested in Shenzhen, who expressed her hope that the UK would continue to do more for Hong Kong people whose lifestyles have been completely destroyed. Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, who arranged the meeting, said he was impressed by the courage of Hong Kong’s young people in fighting for their rights and freedoms, and hoped that the people of Hong Kong would know that London would warmly welcome the arrival of Hong Kong people.
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