Prospect of Hong Kong People Flooding Britain Riles Mission
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HONG KONG — The prospect of more than 3 million Hong Kong people flooding into Britain when China takes back the British colony in 1997 provoked a strong response from a visiting parliamentary mission today.
“Do you realize the impact the arrival of 3.25 million people would have on Britain?” team member Ian Taylor asked.
He was replying to Law Society Chairman Simon Yip, who challenged London to demonstrate its faith in the Sino-British agreement guaranteeing Hong Kong’s freedoms and capitalist way of life for 50 years after the hand-over.
“The British government should put its money where its mouth is,” Yip said.
He said London should issue passports to the 3.25 million people born in Hong Kong, giving them automatic right to live in Britain. He argued that Hong Kong people would emigrate to Britain only if the Sino-British accord failed.
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