BN(O) passport holders fleeing Hong Kong should know Britain has a racism problem
- With anti-Asian attacks rising around the world, the problem of racism is a concern for those considering moving to the UK
- Without working to make Britain more inclusive, the unresolved socio-economic discontent that contributed to Brexit could target settlers from Hong Kong
While the diplomatic row over Britain’s announcement of the BN(O) scheme has been the centre of much media attention, potential social problems that could arise from an influx of Hongkongers into Britain have not been sufficiently discussed. Put simply, the scheme could introduce a sizeable ethnic minority group into a white-majority society. With anti-Asian attacks rising around the world, the problem of racism is a concern for those considering moving to the UK.
The commission instead seems to suggest a wide interpretation of what racism is has contributed to perceptions the UK is institutionally racist. In the commission’s own words, “It is certainly true that the concept of racism has become much more fluid, extending from overt hostility and exclusion to unconscious bias and microaggressions. This is partly because ethnic minorities have higher expectations of equal treatment and, rightly, will not tolerate behaviour that, only a couple of generations ago, would have likely been quietly endured or shrugged off.”
Leaving aside whether the commission’s conclusion is an accurate assessment of racial disparity in the UK, the British government seems to be jumping the gun in attempting to address institutional racism when overt racism is still a serious problem. It is disconcerting that there have been racially motivated attacks on Asian people in the UK triggered by “maskaphobia”.
While the perpetrators of such racial violence are not representative of the British public, the increase of racism against Asians reported in the UK following the coronavirus outbreak is far from reassuring.
Prior to the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, lobbied unsuccessfully for the right of abode to be granted to Hongkongers holding British Dependent Territories passports. Yet, a change in immigration policy does not reverse years of official complicity in legitimising bigoted and xenophobic attitudes in the UK.
Racist attitudes in the UK have often been intertwined with anti-immigration rhetoric. Although there is support for the BN(O) scheme from the British public, it is difficult to overlook the rather complex relationship that Britain has with immigration into the UK, particularly when immigration continues to be a source of public anxiety for some in Britain.
As Britain continues to come to grips with its post-Brexit identity and what it means to be British, one can only wonder whether the resettlement scheme might be an overzealous political vanity project that might have the unintended consequence of stirring up further anti-Asian sentiment across the UK.
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In maintaining that “model for other white-majority countries”, the British political elite seems unduly complacent over the treatment of ethnic minorities in the UK.
It is clear that more needs to be done to tackle the deep-seated racism and xenophobia that has permeated Britain’s social fabric for far too long. Until it is, those planning to relocate to Britain should proceed with caution.
Justin Bong-Kwan is a practising barrister and a freelance writer based in Hong Kong