TLTP
\nLONDON
\nBeijing Thursday warned that it won\u2019t stand back and watch the UK grant citizenship to millions of Hong Kongers. If China\u2019s opposition to the move isn\u2019t heard, some \u201ccorresponding measures\u201d will come into play.
\nPM Boris Johnson said earlier on Wednesday that if China pursues hotly-debated national security laws in Hong Kong, millions of its residents will be eligible for the British National Overseas (BNO) passport.
\nThe passport currently allows holders to enter the UK without a visa for six months, but British immigration laws could be changed in such a way that overseas nationals would be able to stay in the UK for a renewable period of 12 months \u2013 and become British citizens in the future.
\nOn Thursday, Chinese diplomats hit back at the PM\u2019s promise, saying it was an affront to its sovereignty and a breach of London\u2019s own agreements with Beijing. The UK had once declared that \u201cit will not confer the right of abode to Chinese citizens in Hong Kong who hold BNO passports,\u201d China\u2019s Embassy in London recalled.
\nIf Hong Kongers are allowed to emigrate en masse, it would breach the UK\u2019s \u201cown position and pledges as well as international law and basic norms governing international relations,\u201d it added.
\nAmbassador Liu Xiaoming noted that nothing in the joint Sino-British declaration returning Hong Kong to China gives the UK \u201csovereignty, jurisdiction or right of supervision\u201d over the former colony.
\nEchoing countless statements by Chinese officials, he said Hong Kong affairs fall within China\u2019s jurisdiction and \u201cbrook no external interference.\u201d
\n \u201cGone are the days when Hong Kong was under British colonial rule,\u201d he tweeted.
\nMeanwhile, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab acknowledged that there\u2019s little the UK can do \u201cto force China to allow BNOs to come to the UK.\u201d Still, London will use \u201cdiplomatic leverage\u201d to persuade Beijing against enacting the Hong Kong security laws.
\nAs the diplomatic spat unfolded, thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets on the anniversary of the 1997 handover from Britain to China to decry the legislation which came into force on Tuesday night. The protests saw clashes with police who used water cannon, tear gas, and pepper spray against the crowds.
\nThe protestors believe the legislation \u2013 which outlaws secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces \u2013 will silence dissent and spell the end of Hong Kong\u2019s special autonomous status. Beijing insists that it\u2019s only looking to boost security and ensure stability in the region; and it has consistently demanded that nations backing pro-independence protests stop meddling in China\u2019s internal affairs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP LONDON Beijing Thursday warned that it won\u2019t stand back and watch the UK grant citizenship to millions of Hong Kongers. If China\u2019s opposition to the move isn\u2019t heard, some \u201ccorresponding measures\u201d will come into play. PM Boris Johnson said earlier on Wednesday that if China pursues hotly-debated national security laws in Hong Kong, millions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-129921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n