China accuses Britain of interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong and China. (File)
SHANGHAI:
A new British policy allowing Hong Kong residents to claim British citizenship is a violation of international law and interferes with China’s internal affairs, the Chinese embassy in London said Thursday.
British Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Wednesday that Hong Kongers with British National Overseas or BN (O) status could apply for special visas to live in Britain, which could eventually lead to citizenship, from January 2021.
Britain made the move despite opposition from Beijing and China would react strongly if it was not overturned, the Chinese embassy said in a statement.
This decision “gravely violated (Britain’s) own commitments, seriously interfered with China’s internal affairs, and gravely violated international law and basic standards of international relations,” he said.
London’s move, which could allow nearly three million Hong Kong residents to settle in Britain, came after Beijing imposed new security legislation on the former British colony which the activists for democracy, would end the freedoms promised in 1997 when the territory returned to Chinese rule.
The British Consulate General in Hong Kong said in a press release Thursday that the immigration route offers BN (O) citizens the right to live, work or study in Britain, and has been taken ” following the Chinese government’s decision to impose a new national security. Hong Kong Law “.
Britain says the law violates the terms of the 1984 transfer of power treaty. China accuses Britain of interfering in Hong Kong and Chinese affairs.
“The Chinese side urges the British side to recognize the reality of Hong Kong’s return to China, to objectively review Hong Kong’s national security law and immediately correct its mistakes,” the embassy said.
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