Democrats Demand More From UK On Citizenship

The Democratic Party has called on Britain to offer right of abode or full citizenship to BN(O) passport holders in Hong Kong who are worried about the national security law Beijing is preparing to implement in the SAR.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his government is considering a "pathway to citizenship" for BN(O) passport holders – but the Democratic Party says this ambiguity doesn’t engender much confidence in Hong Kong people.

Emily Lau, who chairs the party’s international affairs committee, said on Wednesday that many Hong Kong people just want a "lifeboat" because although they don't want to leave Hong Kong, they're terrified "of being arrested by the Communists and taken back to mainland China for trial, or be locked up and tortured and disappear."

Lau said the party has written a letter to the UK’s home secretary detailing its concerns and requests.

"If you think you have a responsibility for the people, why don't you discharge it completely, instead of saying 'oh, you come and earn your citizenship after a few years'. So this is the point we make in the letter and we hope the British government will listen," Lau said.

"I think many Hong Kong people would support it. The thing is, if they have the thing in their pocket and they feel safe, they're not going to leave. They just want an escape route. A lifeboat. If something happens, they themselves and their families will have somewhere to go to."

That is until things go "very wrong", and people will then bail out of Hong Kong, she added.

The party said people born in Hong Kong before 1997 should be offered right of abode in the UK, "as they were handed over to authoritarian China without having any say", and they are also asking the UK for another scheme for young people born after the handover.