[앵커]
The protests have subsided because of the coronavirus, but Hong Kong is now experiencing a period of upheaval. In Hong Kong, people who were in danger of being captured after participating in the democratization movement continued to exile to the UK and Taiwan. Starting today (31st), the UK has significantly lowered its immigration threshold. Hong Kong people with an open way to escape are interested in how much they will move, and China is strongly protesting it as’interference in internal affairs’.
This is Shin Shin Jin’s correspondent.
[기자]
‘BNO’, a passport for British overseas citizens, is a de facto identification card held by over 3.4 million Hong Kong citizens born before returning to Hong Kong in 1997.
From today, the UK has increased the duration of stay in the UK for Hong Kongers with this BNO from 6 months to 5 years.
They allowed employment, which had been banned, and allowed them to apply for citizenship after living for 5 years and 12 months longer.
The reason is that the liberty of British overseas citizens in Hong Kong was violated by the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the massive protests that began last year due to the repatriation of criminals to the mainland.
China protested, saying it would not accept BNO passports.
[자오리젠/중국 외교부 대변인 : 중국은 강력히 분개합니다. 1월 31일부터 중국은 소위 영국해외시민 여권을 여행이나 신분 증명 문서로 인정하지 않겠습니다.]
Hong Kongers are learning how to use a Hong Kong passport for departure and a BNO passport for entry into the UK.
The UK government expects up to 1 million people to migrate to the UK over the next five years.
(Video Design: Choi Soo-jin / Video Graphics: Park Gyeong-min)
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