LONDON: The Mayor of London on Thursday sent a message of support to Hong Kong residents fled from democracy to seek new life in the UK, said his office would spend 900,000 pounds ($ 1.2 million) to help new arrival with housing, education, and job findings.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said London is expected to welcome the proportion of the biggest arrival of Hong Kong to England this year, after the British government introduced a new Immigration Path for those who have passports abroad to live and work in the country.
The government estimates that around 123,000 to 153,000 people will take this year’s visa.
Visa, which enabled those who qualified to propose British citizenship after living in the UK for five years, was introduced last year after Beijing imposes new national security law sweeping in Hong Kong.
The law has encouraged the exodus of many young people and families who say their hometown has been changed without limits.
Beijing strongly criticized England’s offer in interference in household affairs.
The British authorities maintained them to guard the promise of Hong Kong, a British colony until 1997, when he returned to the Chinese government as a semi-autonomous area that should enjoy freedom and civil liberties that were not seen elsewhere in China.
More than 34,000 people have submitted a visa request, said Khan, although most have not arrived in England because of a pandemic.
International trips have been very limited and Hong Kong only added to the “green list” of England from secure countries on Monday, which means that people who arrive from there do not need to be quarantined on arrival unless they test positive.
“We think between a quarter and one third (arrival) will choose London as their destination, but the early days however,” Khan said in an interview.
The mayor said he was interested in sending a message to Hong Kongers that London “would welcome you with open arms.” “For me, we are quite clear we have a moral obligation to help them from Hong Kong.
But also that’s the history of London.
We have done this for decades in a row,” he said.
His office will use government funds and work with community groups to suggest and help Hong Kongers navigate the challenge of finding housing, school, and work, he added.
“Hundreds of thousands have gone because of a pandemic and because of Brexit,” he said.
“So, see, we have a record number (IN) job market in London.” Khan acknowledged that racial crimes against Chinese and Asian people in the capital had increased since January 2020, when the pandemic first began to spread from China.
But he said that the number of crimes had dropped from “previous surge.” The British government estimates that up to 322,000 people will take new visas for five years.
Since China applies new national security laws in June, more than 100 pro-democracy supporters have been arrested and many others have fled abroad.
Piercing on the difference in income hardens in recent weeks, when Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was forced to stop publication.