The UK now wants to offer BNO passport holders citizenship rights after six years of stay, arguing that China has breached the Sino-British Joint Declaration by enacting the national security law, which violates the city’s high degree of autonomy and infringes the civil liberties of Hong Kong residents.

英国现在希望给予英国护照持有者在居留六年后的公民权利，解释称香港国安法违反了“中英联合声明”，破坏了城市的高度自治，侵犯了香港公民自由。

本文在BBC news 当天的阅读量排在第 5位，内容均为原文原图。

仅用于深入了解事件，西方与国内的价值观不同，请时刻保持理性,“人权”和“自由”绝不是干涉中国内政的正当理由

图片在手机页面经常不能加载，推荐移步PC端

Hong Kong security law: Why we are taking our BNOs and leaving

By Grace Tsoi

BBC News, Hong Kong

12 July 2020

 Since China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, a lot of dinner party chatter in this protest-minded city has been about personal exit strategies. For up to three million Hongkongers, the exit could come in the form of a British National (Overseas) passport. Will they really leave - and what of those left behind?

Michael and Serena have decided to leave Hong Kong for good and settle in the UK, a country they have never set foot in.

The couple have British National (Overseas) - or BNO - passports, which were issued to Hong Kong residents that registered before the city was handed back to China on July 1997.
Essentially a travel document with rights for some consular assistance, its usefulness seemed limited to many for anything but easier access to the UK and European travel. Some people went for it anyway. Why not, went the thinking for many Hongkongers.

Michael and Serena are the embodiment of the comfortable prosperity common in Hong Kong: well-travelled with a 13-year-old daughter, they are both middle managers in a bank and bought a flat many years ago. It is a lot to give up.

They say that Hong Kong has become unrecognisable in its handling of the months-long protests triggered by a bill which proposed to allow extradition to mainland China. What the couple saw was a government which did not listen to the people, and police force that showed little restraint.

Their daughter has been deeply affected by the protests, even though the family did not take part because the couple work at a Chinese bank, where an employee was fired for protesting.


“She has been very angry and upset. She kept asking why the authorities could treat us like that?” Serena said, adding that their daughter had told them she wanted to study abroad.

The controversial national security law, which took effect last week, was the last straw.

“The articles of the national security law are outrageous,” said Michael. Serena said she did not believe Beijing’s claims that the claim that law would only target “a tiny number of people”.

The UK now wants to offer BNO passport holders citizenship rights after six years of stay, arguing that China has breached the Sino-British Joint Declaration by enacting the national security law, which violates the city’s high degree of autonomy and infringes the civil liberties of Hong Kong residents.

Michael and Serena’s original plan was to only send their daughter to study abroad, but now moving to the UK as a family has become their first choice. Last November, they renewed their long-expired BNO passports, thinking that it could become useful - a hedge against an uncertain future.

“I thought the UK would only offer citizenship to BNO passport holders as a last resort. I didn’t think it would happen so soon, but all of a sudden great changes are happening,” Michael said.

In the week since China announced the new security law, the story of Michael and Serena has become more common.

The people without BNO passports

BNO passports were issued to people who registered before the former British colony was handed back to China

Currently, there are about 350,000 BNO passport holders in Hong Kong, and the UK government estimates that there are about 2.9 million BNOs in total.

Hong Kong residents born after the 1997 handover are not eligible for the BNO passport - and those who did not apply for one before the handover are not allowed to do so now.

Helen was born in 1997 before the handover, but her parents did not apply for a BNO passport for her because she was a baby.

“I am not sure if I want to go. But this is my right. Compared to the UK, I like Hong Kong more. But I should have had a BNO passport,” she said, admitting that she blamed her parents a little for not applying for one for her back then.

About 350,000 Hong Kong residents are BNO passport holders as of February


It is difficult to gauge the number of Hong Kong residents who will take up the UK's offer at this moment - but interest is running high, especially after the UK's announcement on July 1. On that day, Mr Raab told the House of Commons: "We will not look the other way on Hong Kong, and we will not duck our historic responsibilities to its people."
Ben Yu, who works for an immigration consultancy in the UK, said: "My Hong Kong-based colleague receives 30 to 40 messages on Facebook every day. His WhatsApp has received hundreds of messages asking about moving to the UK by all routes, including BNOs and other visas. The messages come in 24/7 non-stop since then."
The number of BNO renewals appears to be driven by political upheavals in Hong Kong. In 2018, about 170,000 BNO passports were in circulation. The next year, the number jumped to more than 310,000.
During the colonial days, Hong Kong was always described as a borrowed place on borrowed time - and it is no stranger to waves of emigration. Between 1984 and 1997, between about 20,000 and 66,000 people left the city every year.
The imminent wave of emigration will also likely look different to those in the past. "A lot of them returned to Hong Kong either before 1997 or after 1997, when they had seized their safety outlets when they had got their foreign passports, when they saw that the political nightmare had not occurred as predicted," said Professor Ming Sing, who teaches politics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "For the current wave, should it happen, I guess we will see a higher proportion of them is going to be a one-way ticket，" he said.
"A lot of them see that the legislation of the national security law which has been imposed from the top is not only draconian in nature, but it also reflects Beijing reneging on its promise. Not only its failure to protect Hong Kong's freedoms under the Joint Declaration and under the Basic Law," he said, adding that he thinks more young people, many of them are protesters, will exit Hong Kong.
## What comes next? In the city of 7.5 million, about 800,000 people have British, Australian, Canadian, or American passports - including expats.
Beijing has expressed anger over the UK's plan to offer citizenship to BNO passport holders in Hong Kong. China's Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said on Monday the move constitutes **"gross interference in China's internal affairs"**
"No one should underestimate the firm determination of China to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests," he said.
The Chinese Embassy also said in a statement all "Chinese compatriots residing in Hong Kong are Chinese nationals".
In an earlier interview with ITV, Mr Raab said there is little the UK could do if China doesn't allow Hong Kong residents to come to the UK. "It is hard to predict what consequences Beijing has in mind. Probably more diplomatic ones in the form of a counter-measure, which does not necessarily need to be in the same form but should not be disproportionate," said Simon Young, a legal scholar at the University of Hong Kong.
Benedict Rogers, co-founder and chair of advocacy group Hong Kong Watch, described the BNO offer as "generous, courageous and welcome".
(video: Hong Kongers with British passports are divided over whether to leave the country) But the rescue element should be a last resort, Mr Rogers said. "We should be working to ensure the conditions are met whereby HongKongers can continue their way of life, with the freedoms they were promised, without having to flee their homes. But the reality is that now, for some, it is already too late and they will need a place of sanctuary."
Michael and Serena are making preparations for a new life in the UK, but they did not succeed at convincing their older son, who is turning 18 soon, to leave with them. He will live with his grandparents after the rest of the family has moved.
"My son says he doesn't want to leave Hong Kong, because he thinks Hong Kong belongs to him," Serena said.
*Some names have been changed.* *----end---*

香港国安法：我们为何拿着英国护照离开

自中国对香港实施了最严格的国安法以来，在这座充满抗议意识的城市，讨论退出香港的策略变成了市民晚宴聊天上的重要话题。对于至多三百万香港人来说，凭借英国国际护照离开或许是一种选择，但他们真的能离开吗？那些留下来的人又将面对什么呢？

Michael与Serena两人已决定离开香港定居英国，在那个从未涉足的国家度过余生。（leave …for good 意为：永久离开）

这对夫妇拥有英国海外国民身份——或者说拥有BNO护照。在1997年中国政府收回香港前，英国将这种护照发予当时的香港居民。

从本质上说，这（BNO）是一份具有领事协助权的旅行证件，其作用似乎仅限于更容易进入英国以及更方便欧洲旅行。 无论如何，有些人确实凭借它去了英国，为什么不借助它呢？许多香港人开始思考了。（这段俺翻译的很难受，仅供参考）


迈克尔Michael和塞雷娜Serena是香港辉煌的体现：他们都是银行的中层管理人员，很多年前买了一处公寓，并带着一个13岁的女儿四处旅行。 离开香港，他们要放弃很多。

他们说，香港在处理长达数月的抗议活动中已经变得面目全非。这场抗议活动源自于一向法律提案，该法案允许将香港居民引渡到中国大陆。

夫妇们看到的是一个不听人民意见的政府，而警察部队做事几乎没有克制。

他们的女儿深受抗议活动的影响，尽管其他家庭成员没有参加。因为这对夫妇在一家中资银行工作，那里的一名员工因抗议而被解雇。

“她一直非常生气和沮丧。她​​一直在问，当局为什么可以这样对待我们？”Serena说，她还补充说，他们的女儿已经告诉他们她想出国学习。

上周生效的、备受争议的国家安全法是压死骆驼的最后一根稻草。

“国家安全法的条款非常过分，”Michael说。 Serena说她没有相信大陆政府的说法，即法律只会针对“极少数人”。

英国现在希望给予英国护照持有者在居留六年后的公民权利，解释称香港国安法违反了“中英联合声明”，破坏了城市的高度自治，侵犯了香港公民自由。

Michael和Serena原本的计划是只送女儿出国学习，但现在一家人搬到英国已成为他们的首选。 去年11月，他们续签了长期过期的BNO护照，认为它对不确定性的未来可能会有用。

“我原以为英国只会在万不得已的情况下向英国护照持有人提供公民身份。我没有预料到情况会变化得这么快。”Michael说。

那些没有英国公民护照的人

（图片）
（图片标题：BNO护照当时发给了英国在香港殖民时期的香港居民）

目前，香港约有35万人持有BNO护照，而英国政府估计，BNO护照的总数约为290万。（看不太明白，不过中国统计的数据是：约300万香港人有BNO护照，而香港总人口约750万）

在1997年移交后出生的香港居民没有资格获得BNO护照,那些在移交之前没有申请的人现在也不能再申请。

海伦在香港主权移交前于1997年出生，但她的父母没有为她申请BNO护照，因为她还是婴儿。

“我不确定我是否想去，但我有选择的权利。与英国相比，我更喜欢香港，但我本应该拥有BNO护照。”她说，并承认自己对父母当时没有为她申请有些指责。

很难估计有多少香港居民会在这个时候接受英国的提议。但香港人的兴趣正在高涨，尤其是在英国7月1日宣布这一消息后。当天，Raab先生告诉下议院：“我们不会抛弃香港，我们不会逃避对人民的历史责任”。

在英国一家移民咨询公司工作的Ben Yu说:“我的总部在香港，同事每天在Facebook上收到30到40条信息。他的WhatsApp已收到数百条消息询问有关通过所有路线（包括BNO和其他路线）前往英国的方式。 从那时起，他们的消息提醒几乎是每天24小时都在响。

续签BNO的数量似乎是由香港的政治动荡推动的。 在2018年，市面上流通的英国国民(海外)护照约有17万本。 第二年，这一数字忽然猛增到超过31万本，在殖民地时代，香港总是被形容为：在借来的时间上的借来的地方。它对一波又一波的移民并不陌生。 在1984年到1997年之间，每年大约有两万到六万六千人离开这座城市。
即将到来的移民潮也可能与过去不同。香港科技大学(Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)政治学教授明星(Ming Sing)说，“他们中的很多人在1997年之前或1997年之后回到了香港，当时他们拿到外国护照后，他们发现政治噩梦并没有如预期的那般发生，便关闭了预留的‘安全出口’。”。他表示: “就目前的浪潮而言，如果发生这种情况，更高比例的人将成为单程票。”。

“他们中的很多人看到，由高层强加的《国家安全法》未能在《联合声明》和《基本法》下保护香港的自由，不仅性质严厉，而且反映了大陆政府背弃承诺。他还认为，更多的年轻人，其中许多是抗议者，将退出香港。

那么，接下来会发生什么？

在这座拥有750万人口的城市，大约有80万人持有英国、澳大利亚、加拿大或美国护照-包括外籍人士。

北京对英国向香港的BNO护照持有人提供公民身份的计划表示愤怒。 中国驻英国大使刘晓明周一表示，此举构成“对中国内政的严重干涉”。
他说：“任何人都不应低估中国维护其主权，安全与发展利益的坚定决心。”

中国大使馆还在一份声明中表示，“所有居住在香港的中国同胞都是中国公民”。
拉伯在接受ITV采访时说，如果中国不允许香港居民来英国，英国将无能为力。 “很难预言北京将带来什么后果。 很可能采取的外交上的反击手段，不一定采取相同的形式，但也不应不相称。”香港大学法律学者西蒙·杨说。

“香港观察”(Hong Kong Watch)的联合创始人兼主席本尼迪克特•罗杰斯(Benedict Rogers)形容 BNO 的提议是“慷慨、勇敢和欢迎的”。


但罗杰斯表示，救援措施应该是最后的手段。“我们应该努力创造条件来使香港人能够继续他们的生活方式，享有承诺的自由，而不必逃离家园。但现实是，对一些人来说，现在已经太晚了，他们需要一个避难所。”
迈克尔和塞雷纳正在为英国的新生活做准备，但他们未能说服即将年满18岁的大儿子与他们一起离开。 家庭其他成员搬迁后，他将与祖父母同住。
瑟琳娜说：“我儿子说他不想离开香港，因为他认为香港属于他。”

*文中所用部分名字为化名*