Britain pushing back against the Chinese Communist Party is a step in the right direction

On Wednesday, the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, announced plans to extend a bespoke citizenship route for holders of the BN(O) passport and their dependents. This comes after almost constant violations of the 1985 joint declaration by the CCP and their pro-Beijing lackeys in the Hong Kong government. The decision paves the way for the 350,000 current holders, and the 2.6 million others that are eligible, to emigrate to Britain and live in freedom.

The announcement has been condemned by the Chinese government because they only allow Chinese and Hong Kong citizens to have one nationality. They have promised “counter-measures” against the UK for “interfering” in what they called “purely a Chinese matter”, as a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said. While the nature of China’s “counter-measures” have not yet been established, it is likely to be in the region of tariffs or possibly a shutdown of trade or severing diplomatic ties.

The UK’s reliance on China for both raw materials and cheap consumer goods is a blatant weak point in situations such as this, with the CCP having the power to starve this country of vital resources and products, leaving us as little more than a subdued territory like Tibet. If you wish to read more about Britain’s China problem, you can do so here.

The UK must take further action to counter the CCP. An official complaint to the UN is a start (although this is unlikely to change anything, as China holds too much influence). Filing a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would be another; as China has violated the Joint Declaration with Britain, they are liable for legal action. Again, this is unlikely to change anything material; China has ignored an ICJ ruling against it before, so there is no reason why it might not again. These actions would serve as symbols to show the world that China is the greatest threat to democracy that exists in our time.

Though some call for Hong Kong to be returned to British sovereignty, this is unrealistic and unhelpful. We need to recognise the threat that China poses to the West and do all we can to help those oppressed and threatened by the boot of Communism.