Yesterday, we provided evidence that China’s salami crackdowns are as sinister as a Tiananmen massacre crackdown. ( Article: Fallacy of reasoning from ‘crackdown’ to actions – The new TianAnMen crackdown) Some have wondered what sticks on Peking can be employed by Britain. The Lib Dem Campaigners for Hong Kong campaign for the Hong Kong Bill in 2 parts – 1. Sanctions, and 2. BN(O) rights.

Let us first look at the lighter portion of the bill – #2 BN(O) rights.

British Nationals (Overseas) passport holders are holders of a British passport and a British National. Applicants took up the nationality to agree with the British identity. While no European countries, including multi-nationality pre-unified Germany, forbids right of abode to some of their nationals; Britain created a second-class nationality for Hong Kong. China looks at nationals lightly too. From the Cultural Revolution to Tiananmen massacre, and from locking up Uyghurs in concentration camps to arresting Wuhan doctors who suggested the outbreak of Covid-19; Peking never shy away from human sacrifices in return for Party order. Is it Global Britain to suggest it too cannot protect all her nationals because of political considerations? Even till early this year, the government is anxious about offending China as if considering our immigration matters is sailing gunboats up the South China Sea. Peking must be laughing now. Even with its problems in the pandemic, Peking’s leadership follows Sun Tzu’s doctrine of warfare to the latter to seek attack when all others are in crisis, for this is to emphasise superiority (敵之害大，就勢取利，剛決柔也。). Simply put, “Loot a burning house”. Peking is invalidating a race – the Hongkongers, and British interests in Hong Kong as we battle the Coronavirus pandemic. The word ‘compassion’ was never in its vocabulary. Of course, we are a nation of ethical and moral values, perhaps, only with a short-sighted government. Whether it is a Rule Britannia pride, economic greed because of the average wealth of a potential migrant from Hong Kong or honouring social liberal values; it does rest upon our shoulders to show we stand up for Hong Kong.

To provide BNO, the acquisition of British Citizenship to right the wrongs of the past. It will follow the same principles as affording the Falkland Islanders, whose islands are also defended by HongKongese soldiers in 1982, British Citizenship. A nationality without the right of abode is so out of common sense that Britain could never conclude the European Convention on Human Rights because Protocol 4 of the ECHR could be violated.

The current government have repeated a legal concern about British Citizenship acquisition over the past few months; however, these concerns have been rejected by Lord Goldsmith QC and Laurie Fransman QC. First, while the government says, former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith mentioned the Sino-British Joint Declaration (‘JD’) would be breached by conferring full citizenship. Yet, in March 2020, Goldsmith has written to the Foreign Secretary explicitly saying his words are misrepresented. He provided a four-page legal opinion explaining there are no breaches to the JD should the right of abode be extended to BNO. Secondly, both Counsels maintains that changes to the UK’s immigration policy are a domestic affair and changes to British Nationality laws have been made numerous times since JD is signed.

Over the next articles, we will look into another major element of the Hong Kong Bill – Sanctions.

References:

1. Fallacy of reasoning from ‘crackdown’ to actions – The new TianAnMen crackdown. Available at https://www.libdemvoice.org/fallacy-of-reasoning-from-crackdown-to-actions-the-new-tiananmen-crackdown-64696.html
2. Bob Seely & Imran Khan MP letter to the Home Secretary available at https://twitter.com/IoWBobSeely/status/1264572834640203776

* Nicholas Chan is a Liberal Democrat member training in Criminal Law. He is Vice-Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Hong Kong.