Hong Kong BN(O): Beijing blasts Britain as application process begins; families torn between moving together or leaving one parent behind to make money
- As the scheme kicked off on Sunday, some families were deciding whether to head to Britain together or have one adult remain to continue earning money
- Some are worried about breaking up the household, but finding a job after arriving is far from certain
Officials accused Britain of breaching past promises by offering a pathway to eventual citizenship for Hong Kong residents.
Shortly after the registration went live, Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted: “This is a proud day in our strong historic relationship as we honour our promise to the people of Hong Kong.”
But in a statement soon after on its website, the cabinet-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office issued a “strong condemnation” of the move, accusing London of turning swathes of Hongkongers into its “second-class citizens”.
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The office said the policy amounted to a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a treaty signed by both countries in 1984 which set out the ground rules for Hong Kong’s development after its return to China in 1997.