“And another thing,” the propagandists for the Chinese totalitarian state tell Hong Kongers thinking of escaping to the United Kingdom. “It isn’t even that great over there.”
It may be unfair to paraphrase, but the actual wording of the Chinese Embassy reported by Radio Free Asia is not any better (“China slams UK fast-track visa for Hong Kongers as ‘interference’ in its affairs,” August 17, 2023).
The British Home Office says:
The British Home Office on Aug. 14 launched a Priority Visa service for applicants to the British National Overseas visa scheme, which has offered a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship to millions of Hong Kongers since the Chinese Communist Party began a political crackdown in the city.
“From today, we are introducing a new Priority Visa service for our Hong Kong BN(O) route which will see visas processed in just 5 working days for those who need to travel urgently,” it said. “It continues the U.K.’s unwavering commitment to the people of Hong Kong.”
The Chinese Embassy says:
“China has all along been opposed to the U.K.’s manipulation of the BNO visa scheme, which interferes in Hong Kong-related affairs and China’s internal affairs,” an embassy spokesperson said. . . .
The Chinese Embassy spokesperson claimed that Hong Kongers who do emigrate to Britain are having a hard time.
“Some deluded people left their home in Hong Kong and came to the U.K. only to find themselves facing a hard life full of discrimination,” the spokesperson said. “There are a large number of such cases around.”
Perhaps Great Britain isn’t that great in various ways, but the Hong Kongers willing to go there and stay there to get away from Hong Kong and China are probably not looking at Britain in isolation. They are probably comparing it to Hong-Kong-and-China, a place where they can get tossed in prison for years for saying a critical word about the government. It’s always the facts that matter most which get omitted from the official Chinazi tweets and press releases.
