Tuesday (July 7th): The Empire strikes back

Boris Johnson

Name? Boris Johnson

Westphalian identity? British

Age? 56

Why is he in the news? Boris has offered Visa and potential British Citizenship to every Hongkong national born before 1997 and with the status “British National Overseas.” And to top that, he banned Huawei from 5G auctions in the UK.

Why do we care? This is the first and only real reaction to China’s National Security Law from any Western leader. While the EU has condemned the law, they know too well that they cannot do anything that will alter Chinese behaviour. Johnson’s move puts the UK back into the Hongkong question, something previously thought to be highly unlikely. 

Why should you care? This could be a chance for 3 million HongKong nationals to immigrate to the UK, work and study there legally, potentially mitigating the effect Brexit has already had in the UK. We are talking about a 3 million strong, mostly highly-educated, wealthy workforce that would boost the British economy. 

Who else cares? Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to the UK, obviously condemned this “breach of the handover of Hong Kong” (also known as ‘the Handover’ and ‘the Return’ in mainland China) and threatened with retaliation towards the UK. Retaliation could involve limiting Chinese tourists and students coming to the UK or blocking British goods from the Chinese Market. The question that remains now…who broke the contract first?

Any further comments? Do you know something funny? Without Brexit, the UK would not have been able to make this offer. So yes, the UK got its freedom back. With this move, the UK is back on the world map and can showcase strong foreign policy like the great empire it once was. Ironically, the people who voted for that to happen (and the people who disliked free movement of people aka immigrants) are now potentially facing 3 million highly educated competitors on the job market. And we thought Brexit could not become funnier.

Joshua Dario Hasenstab

General Coordinator