UK-China Relations Likely to Deteriorate
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The UK has approved political asylum for Nathan Law, one of the figures who triggered the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
According to major foreign media on the 8th (local time), Law, who led large-scale protests in downtown Hong Kong in 2014 alongside Joshua Wong and others, was granted asylum status.
Earlier, when the Chinese government cracked down harshly on opposition protesters to pass the Hong Kong National Security Law, Law fled to the UK in July last year.
He applied for political asylum to the UK government at the end of last year and stated on Twitter, "I have become a wanted person under the Hong Kong National Security Law and am facing political oppression," adding, "If I return to Hong Kong, my personal safety will be threatened."
Law's asylum is expected to further deteriorate relations between the UK and China. China has urged Western countries, including the UK, to stop interfering in its internal affairs, asserting that the Hong Kong National Security Law is an essential law for national security.
The UK opposed China's forcible passage of the Hong Kong National Security Law, arguing that it violated the provisions guaranteeing Hong Kong's autonomy under the "One Country, Two Systems" agreement at the time of Hong Kong's handover in 1997. Subsequently, the UK revised visa regulations to allow 5 million Hong Kong residents to obtain British citizenship.
The UK projects that 300,000 Hong Kong citizens will immigrate over the next five years. Bank of America expects that the migration of Hong Kong citizens to the UK will bring in $36 billion in capital inflow this year.
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