Hong kongs tearing British passports in protest against British interference in China
Last weekend, 13 Hong Kong residents held a peaceful rally at the British Consulate General, during which they tore up their British passports. Thus, the Hong Kongs expressed their disagreement with the recent attempt by London to intervene in the affairs of China regarding the adoption of new national security legislation in Hong Kong.
Recall that at the end of last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson invited millions of Hong Kong citizens to obtain British citizenship in a simplified manner. Presenting this as one of the biggest changes in visa law in the history of Great Britain, Johnson said that about 350,000 Hong Kong residents with a British foreign passport, as well as about 2.5 million who are eligible to apply for a passport, will receive 12-month renewable visas that will enable them to work and obtain citizenship in the UK.
“We strongly condemn the blatant actions of the British government to intervene in the internal affairs of China, and we are very unhappy,” one of the demonstrators, 41-year-old Hong Kong resident Ko Chun Keith Jackie, told reporters.
“Some young Hong Kong people live in error, believing that during the years of British rule we had more rights than today with China. Under British colonial rule, Hong Kong residents did not have sufficient rights. A governor was appointed, officials were appointed … no one even dared to protest then, ”said another demonstrator.
“I have been holding a British passport for ten years. But today I take part in this protest demonstration against British intervention in the internal affairs of China. Not many people I know in Hong Kong still have valid British passports. And Boris Johnson made such a statement only out of political interests, ”said one of the protesters, Man Sheck, who also pointedly tore his British passport.
