Every week, the situation in Hong Kong gets darker. Following the death of a young protestor, the clashes between the police and the protest movement have hit a new low. President Xi Jinping of China ominously threatened to crackdown on Thursday, and terror-struck Hong Kong on Sunday night as it began to emerge what this might mean.
Hong Kongers annually commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre – and on Sunday night it was touch and go about whether 30 years on, there would be a replica. The Hong Kong police force laid siege on the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and carrying live ammunition, threatened to use lethal force against demonstrators. The area around the campus became a battleground. The police advancing with tear gas, guns and water cannons, the protestors responding defensively with Molotov cocktails to stop their advance.
With all eyes in Britain on the general election, the situation in Hong Kong is in danger of dropping off the radar. But there has never been a more important time for the UK to stand with the people of Hong Kong.
The last week has been a tipping point in the protest movement. The violence of both police and protestors has escalated, trust in the police force is non-existent, and the situation is absolutely on a knife-edge.
Carrie Lam has had many opportunities in the last six months to deescalate the situation, and the protestor’s demands remain reasonable and moderate. The violent elements of the protest movement remain a small minority, and a political solution remains the best way forward. But at every turn, the Hong Kong government have chosen to escalate violence rather than listen, and the situation appears intractable.
Increasingly desperate, protestors in Hong Kong have been calling for the UK to stand with them. Recently thousands marched to the British Consulate in Hong Kong calling for aid – shouting the simple slogan: “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.” Last night, we both received scores of messages and phone calls from desperate people calling for help. One voicemail said: “I have phoned the British Consulate, but they have said they cannot help. The world must do something. Please do something.” Another email, titled ‘SOS’, simply stated: “If you have read this, please talk to your government and persuade them to use all means of diplomacy to save these young people. There are obvious reasons that a government does not launch military attack on its own universities, does not take the lives of its brightest generation, does not undermine the freedom of thought and expression in its own city. Please help Hong Kong!”
Britain has a special duty to stand with Hong Kong. Our shared history means many of the protestors feel an affinity with Britain, or even hold a British passport. The UK must lead the way, alongside like-minded partners, in calling for a rational solution to the crisis, de-escalation and for China to fully honour one-country, two-systems.
Students are some of the most vulnerable to the excessive use of force by the police. In recent weeks a couple of protestors died, and a story has emerged of a young girl allegedly being gang raped in a police station by officers. It is vital that the UK consider what asylum measures can be offered to Hong Kong’s young people, and whether we can make it easier for Hong Kong students to settle here.
We also particularly have a duty to British National Overseas passport holders. When the handover negotiations took place, there were about 3 million British Dependent Territories Citizen (BDTC) passport holders (including people born before July 1, 1997 in Hong Kong, and naturalised British subjects) with right of abode in the UK. But against their wishes, Hong Kongers were stripped of their right of abode and many of the core rights which they desired and deserved, and given the option to apply for ‘British National (Overseas) Passports’ or the ‘BNO’ with their rights limited to holiday travel and the right to vote.
This fudged compromise was just about acceptable when China appeared to honour the terms of the handover agreement, to uphold the rights of Hong Kong’s citizens, but as the situation deteriorates -and the safety of these British Nationals becomes under serious threat – the time has come to grant BNO passport holders a vital lifeline.
There has been growing support in Parliament for British National Overseas passport holders to be given access to residency in the UK. The Foreign Affairs Committee recently made this recommendation in their report on autocracies, and it has been a priority for the committee’s Chair Tom Tugendhat who has said: ““The UK had obligations to Hong Kong citizens before 1997, and the extension of overseas citizenship, which is in many ways a second-tier citizenship, was a mistake, and I think it’s one that should be corrected. At a time when there are clearly tensions in Hong Kong, the UK could reassure many Hong Kong citizens that their existing rights are recognised by the UK, and they are valued.”
Boris Johnson said in his campaign he backs Hong Kong ‘every inch of the way.’ In Hong Kong’s darkest hour, now is the time for him to prove it.
Benedict Rogers is the co-founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch.
Johnny Patterson is the Director of Hong Kong Watch.