Home Office Signals Progress for Hong Kong’s Holders of British Nationals Overseas Passports.
On Monday March 4th I chaired a meeting at the House of Lords on behalf of the charity, Hong Kong Watch. A capacity audience heard accounts from five activists from Hong Kong. The main focus of the meeting was about the 152,350 Hong Kongers who hold a BNO passport.
David Alton said;
“It is positive that the United Kingdom is looking to become world leaders in automated passenger clearance, but it is puzzling that privileged access is being given to foreign nationals from the United States, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere, while people holding British passports continue to wait in line. It is particularly confusing that the Hong Kong SAR passport has access to the e-passport gates, but BNO passports do not.
What does it communicate to the rest of the world that British passports holders are being forced to queue not only behind every European, but also foreign nationals?
It is easy to forget that there are hundreds of BNO passport holders who fought for the British army when they were British citizens prior to handover. Does their service not matter to us? Should they really be waiting behind the Japanese or South Koreans?
I campaigned for British Dependent Territory Citizens in Hong Kong to be given right of abode, or at least the choice to retain their citizenship, when the handover discussions were taking place. Unfortunately, our negotiations with China denied them their right to self-determination, offering only the BNO passport as a token compromise. These passports were designed to acknowledge the historic ties the United Kingdom has with Hong Kong, and our ongoing commitment to the people of Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. This is a cost-free way of ensuring that these British passports mean something.”
Following the meeting, Baroness Williams of Trafford, a Home Office Minister has promised, in a letter to Lord Alton (attached), that the Home Office will examine the restrictions on BNO passport holders being able to use automated passenger clearance.
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leChronique
2019-3-10 12:25:31
Promised to examine 應該會變
Lord Alton 日前在其Facebook 表示，內政部承諾將審視BNO持有人使用電子過關的情況。這亦不難理解，對於很多港人來說，去旅行大過天，如果可以使用電子通關，「同英國人排一條隊」，不用和其他國籍的人「差別對待」，可能已經非常滿足。或許英國政府亦深明此道，故此座談會上提到的BNO居英權、放寬移民簽證限制、給予BNO移民英國特快通道、移居英聯邦國家等訴求，內政部均沒有回應，只回應了審視電子過關這一條。
此外，根據Hong Kong Watch及活動門票網站eventbrite的資料，座談會的主辦單位是Hong Kong Watch，而不是英國國會；再者，是次座談會雖然是在國會裡面舉行，但其實只是在裡面的一間Committee Room以借用場地的方式舉行，其實我在之前的文章也曾提及，在國會內舉行的活動，並不一定是國會主辦的活動，故此「英國議會史上首次BNO平權會議」似有誤導之虞。如果借用場地就叫「英國議會上首次xxx」，那麼在國會內以廣東話溝通，又是否可以說「在英國議會以廣東話發言」？此外，事後Hong Kong Watch發帖時描述活動是一個「座無虛席的座談會」(packed seminar)，但事實上Committee Room 空間有限，即使是座無虛席的活動，頂多也只能容納約二三十人，活動其實未如某些媒體或公眾想像般具影響力，從去年Hong Kong Watch 的相同活動可見一斑。