Cheers to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for offering millions of Hong Kongers visas and a path to UK citizenship if Beijing goes ahead with its horrible new “security law.”
The mainland is inflicting the legislation on the city without going through Hong Kong’s own legislature, in blatant defiance of the 1997 handover, which guaranteed the city’s autonomy until 2047.
The law will effectively criminalize dissent and empower the mainland’s security forces to operate openly in the city. It is, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress, the “death knell” for liberty and democracy in Hong Kong.
London is in no position to stop the massive treaty violation. But Johnson’s riposte will still wound: If the law goes ahead, he says, he’ll offer visas and potential citizenship to all 3 million Hong Kongers who qualify for British National (Overseas) passports, not just the 300,000 who now hold them.
The move infuriated the mainland regime, which immediately began issuing threats of reprisals if . . . the United Kingdom lets people escape its grasp.
Well played, Boris.