[아시아경제 박병희 기자] After the communization of China in 1949, many Chinese immigrated to Hong Kong over the decades. Director Wang Ga-wi’s film’Hwayang Yeonhwa’ is set in an apartment in Hong Kong in 1962, where people from Shanghai lived. Director Wang Ga-wi himself was born in Shanghai in 1958, but moved to Hong Kong in 1962 and grew up in Hong Kong.
After the Tiananmen crisis in 1989, the Chinese migrated to Hong Kong on a large scale. This is because expectations for democratization in China have disappeared. Over the years after the Tiananmen crisis, more than 1 million Chinese have migrated to Hong Kong. The Tiananmen outbreak raised concerns about Hong Kong’s return to China. Movies such as Abi Jeongjeon (1990), Chongqing Forest (1995), and Fine Mill (1997) were poured out.
The UK and China signed the Hong Kong Return Agreement in December 1984 and entered into force in 1985. After signing a Hong Kong return agreement, the UK has issued British National Overseas (BNO) passports to Hong Kongers since 1987. The Hong Kongers were disappointed. This is because he was only allowed to stay in the UK for six months. I couldn’t work or settle down.
A supporter of the Hong Kong democratization protest is holding a British Overseas Citizen (BNO) passport. [이미지 출처= EPA연합뉴스]
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After receiving Hong Kong back in July 1997, China promoted a “one country and two system” that was declared at the time of the Hong Kong return agreement to appease the Hong Kong people. However, the attempt to enact the Hong Kong National Security Act in 2003 attracted opposition from Hong Kongers, and continued to clash with Hong Kong citizens due to the Umbrella Revolution in 2014 and the Extradition Act (Repatriation Act) in 2019. China, which failed to enact the National Security Act through the Hong Kong government in 2003, passed the Hong Kong version of the’National Security Act (Security Act)’ through the National People’s Congress (Non-in University), a parliamentary form of China last May. It laid the groundwork for the Chinese government to directly intervene in Hong Kong’s internal affairs and to monitor and punish anti-Chinese forces in Hong Kong. With the implementation of the Hong Kong Security Law, it was said that the two countries had virtually collapsed and the democratization of Hong Kong was also over.
The UK has been opposed to the Hong Kong Security Law. When the NPC passed the Hong Kong Security Act, it revised the immigration law in July last year, proclaiming that it would guarantee the status of real British citizens to Hong Kongers holding BNO passports. He said he would be able to work and study while living in England for five years. In addition, after five years of residence, they will also be given the qualification to apply for citizenship, so that they will be able to obtain citizenship again one year later and live permanently in the UK. The Chinese, who had escaped to Hong Kong, had an opportunity to escape to England again. BNO is expected to be an opportunity for the’HK-exit·Hong Kong+Exit’ to become full-fledged.
As the UK revised the law on BNO, the number of Hong Kongers applying for BNO increased rapidly. According to Bloomberg News, 60,000 people applied for BNO in October of last year alone. It was the most in history.
UK BNO passport applications surge [이미지 출처= 블룸버그통신]
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The UK Housing Authority estimates that of the 7.5 million people in Hong Kong, up to 5.4 million people are eligible to migrate to the UK. Out of 2.9 million people with BNO passports, their children and families are estimated to be around 2.5 million.
Hong Kongers can apply for a 30-month or 5-year BNO online. The five-year BNO costs £350 per person (approximately 540,000 won). Applicants are required to pay a separate immigration health surcharge for accessing UK health services. Applying for a 5-year BNO costs £3120 per person for adults and £2350 per person for those under 18. For a family of four, including two children, the total cost of applying for BNO alone is about £12,000 (about 18.36 million won). You also need to prove that you can find and live in the UK for at least 6 months through your bank account, job in the UK, and rental income.
Britain and China are arguing with each other for violating the Hong Kong return agreement. China insists that it violates its promise not to give Hong Kong citizens residing in the UK after returning to Hong Kong. In response, the UK is confronting China’s violation of Hong Kong’s freedom and autonomy, breaking down the principle of the one-country system promised at the time of the return agreement.
It is difficult to predict how many Hong Kongers will migrate to the UK with BNO. The UK has come up with a variety of projected scenarios, ranging from at least 10,000 and up to more than 1 million over the next five years. The most likely case is that 32,400 people will migrate to the UK over the next five years, which is expected to bring about £2.9 billion to the UK economy.
The British Airways Association (Hongkongers in Britain) estimates that the number of migrants will exceed 600,000 over three years. A Hong Kong media reported on the 6th that 53 people from democratic camps were arrested for violating the Hong Kong Security Law, and predicted that as the crackdown on democratization in China increases, more people will migrate to the UK.
Reporter Park Byung-hee [email protected]
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