Hong Kong tells foreign governments to stop accepting special British passport
The Hong Kong government has told some foreign consulates to stop accepting a British travel document that many of its young people use to apply for working holiday visas in Europe, North America and parts of Asia, diplomats say.
In a move seen by some envoys as a diplomatic affront, the
government informed about a dozen foreign consulates in a letter that it no
longer considered the British National Overseas (BNO) passport a valid travel
document as of Jan. 31.
The letter, seen by Reuters, demanded that its Hong Kong passport
should be used instead.
A diplomatic row broke out over the BNO in January after
Britain introduced a new visa scheme offering a pathway to full citizenship for
Hongkongers who want to leave the Chinese-ruled territory.
Britain launched the scheme after Hong Kong passed a
sweeping national security law last year, that critics say is crushing dissent
in the former British colony.
Almost 3 million Hong Kong residents hold or are eligible
for the BNO document, that was created ahead of Britain handing the city back
to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong also started to mirror mainland China by not
recognising dual nationality, preventing for the first time foreign diplomats
from visiting locals with foreign passports in detention.
"Most countries are going to ignore this," said
one senior Western diplomat who had seen the letter.
"It is the Hong Kong government just trying it
on...they have no right to tell any state what foreign passports it can
recognise."
Another envoy described the move as "bordering on
belligerent" and said it was not the way the Hong Kong government,
generally mindful of the city's standing as an international financial hub, has
traditionally behaved.
The Hong Kong government has yet to respond to Reuters'
request for comment.
A Hong Kong government website lists 14 countries under the
reciprocal Working Holiday Scheme, including Japan, Canada, Germany, Britain and
Australia.
Officials in Japan, South Korea, Italy and New Zealand
confirmed to Reuters that they still recognised the BNO passport for visas.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry added that it had not received the letter while
Hungary said it had, and had started talks to change the working holiday
programme.
Other nations, including the United States, Finland and
Norway, also offer similar arrangements or student exchanges for Hongkongers,
and have accepted BNOs from applicants.
It is not known if the United States also received the
letter but a State Department spokesman told Reuters the BNO remained valid for
visa-issuing purposes and travel to the United States.
Hong Kong's moves against the BNO followed an announcement
from the UK government that its new visa could attract more than 300,000 people
and their dependents.
London said it was fulfilling a historic and moral
commitment to Hong Kong's people in the wake of the national security law,
which allows for suspects in serious cases to be taken across the border and
tried in mainland Chinese courts.
Beijing and Hong Kong authorities say the legislation is
necessary to bring stability to the city after anti-government protests flared
in 2019.
The UK scheme allows those with BNO status to live, study
and work in Britain for five years and eventually apply for citizenship.
Beijing said it would make them second-class citizens, a
line propagated by pro-Beijing media commentators in Hong Kong.
Britain handed its former colony back to Chinese rule in
1997 with guarantees its core freedoms, extensive autonomy and capitalist way
of life would be protected.
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