Britain's insistence on deporting an illegal immigrant from Hong Kong 17 years after his one-month visitor's visa expired is legally correct, but morally indefensible. It is the worst possible public relations at a time when the Prime Minister has promised British solidarity in the face of pressure from China. It is also, just possibly, neither ham-fisted nor unthinking, but a cynical message of warning to other would-be overstayers from Britain's last major colony not to expect special treatment after 1997. If the message were also taken on board by potential asylum-seekers who might have been too ready to believe Mr Major's assurances, that would not be deeply regretted by the Home Office.
Neither Albert Tong Hing-fai nor his British born wife and daughter deserve such treatment. Mr Tong does not dispute he overstayed his visa and remained in the UK illegally. Nor is he the only Hong Kong overstayer to have received a deportation order after years of living, working and raising a family in Britain.
Unlike Manchester fast-food operator Cheung Ka-fu and his family, who were served a deportation order earlier this year, he is not even seeking asylum or making any dubious claims of a 'well-founded fear of persecution' if he returns to Hong Kong. He is simply a man who has won the sympathy of the local population and the British public at large and could easily and without serious political cost to the Government be granted an amnesty at the discretion of the Home Secretary, Michael Howard.
There are times when any Government must take what appear to be harsh, inhumane decisions as a deterrent to other would-be emotional blackmailers. It would be easy to argue, were there a flotilla of refugee boats on the way from Hong Kong, that letting Mr Tong stay would set a precedent and raise the hopes of others.
So far, however, Mr Tong and Mr Cheung are isolated cases. By allowing them to stay in Britain, possibly even granting a general, one-off amnesty to Hong Kong people who have been in the country for more than 10 years, and issuing a stern warning that no more exceptions will be made in future, Mr Howard could do much to improve his own and Britain's reputation in Hong Kong. Instead, he has damaged the Government's standing in the eyes of his own electorate as well.
