An exiled leader of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong has said the UK government risks reneging on a commitment to people from its former colony in its shake-up of legal immigration routes.
Nathan Law, a former Hong Kong politician who arrived in the UK in 2020 and has a bounty on his head, said that the government should reflect on its moral obligations when enacting its increase of the standard qualifying period for permanent residence to a decade.
He said the proposed change in asylum laws was creating fresh anxiety and uncertainty for Hongkongers forced to flee their homes as a consequence of the change in the politics of the territory in recent years after its handover to China in 1997.
The current five-year wait for leave to remain will not be affected for those and their dependants born before 1 July 1997 in Hong Kong who registered for British national overseas (BNO) status.
Law, who was born on mainland China, said there remained an anxious cohort of people without BNO status who have been forced to leave their homes owing to political persecution and that Britain’s moral obligation extended to all of them.
The changes to the asylum laws are part of what Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has described as plans to make Britain’s settlement rules “by far the most controlled and selective in Europe”.
There is an ongoing internal government debate about whether the more restrictive requirements will apply to those who are already in the UK, or only those arriving in future.
Law said: “The commitment to Hong Kong is not just for those with BNO status. There is a wider commitment and moral obligation. I think when they think about the situation of Hong Kong refugees, they should think about that. I think that this obligation extends to those who are fleeing the political situation in Hong Kong as that is part of the history between Hong Kong and Britain.”
Law came to prominence during the “umbrella movement” protests in 2014, which called for universal suffrage for Hongkongers.
After the protests, Law, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow formed the political party Demosisto. Four candidates including Law won seats but were later disqualified.
Agnes Chow (left, centre) and Joshua Wong, seen here in 2019, founded the pro-democracy Demosisto with Law. Photograph: Jérôme Favre/EPA
The trio were prominent voices of the protest movement in 2019 and were frequent targets for arrest amid accusations of seeking foreign influence. They fled the territory after being charged over an unauthorised assembly when people defied pandemic gathering bans to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre. Law applied for asylum in the UK in 2021.
Law said: “If [the waiting period] changes it will prolong the uncertainty in my life as well as the already mounting pressure from the Chinese government where they launch ferocious personal attacks.
“The concern is that you really want to have a sense of being settled, a sense of finding your home, a permanent residency. It’s paramount for those who have fled political violence. We are trying to find a place of safety.”
Law said he believed permanent residence and a British passport would offer him greater safety at home and when travelling abroad. The Hong Kong authorities are offering rewards of HK$1m (£100,581; $127,637) for information leading to his capture.
Last year, three men were charged with national security offences for assisting Hong Kong intelligence service and foreign interference, including spying on Law and other exiled activists.
He said: “I have seen evidence that there was surveillance commissioned so I have legitimate grounds to think that I might not be in the safest position. I am in limbo. I am not sure what the next step is.”
A Home ofice spokesperson said: “We remain unwavering in our commitment to provide refuge and support to people from Hong Kong through dedicated immigration routes.
“No one who is found to be at risk of persecution or serious harm will be expected to return to Hong Kong.”
