UK mulls over changes for Hong Kong citizens

[Flashback]

Have we seen any evidence of chinese influence in UK? They just lost the 5G contract?

At this stage, absolutely none. While BoJo has said no to their 5G position I've not seen anything else. I think It's a global phenomenon though and the worst is yet to come for China I'm afraid! I don't agree with it, but there you go.

 

[tomlee1986]

Have we seen any evidence of chinese influence in UK? They just lost the 5G contract?

They have lost it and Boris Johnson will continue to be tough on China especially after the affects of the COVID

 

[Flashback]

They have lost it and Boris Johnson will continue to be tough on China especially after the affects of the COVID

I don't entirely agree with that. Living here in the UK I think it's a bit more nuanced than that......

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The Chinese government can say or do what they like, but BNO is still an UK internal matter... doubt anything can stop them from this

For sure - the Uk can allow anyone to enter and stay. China could however impose exit permits.

 

[kamchatsky]

For sure - the Uk can allow anyone to enter and stay. China could however impose exit permits.

Not sure how though, HK residents can leave HK using their Permanent ID card. Even if they have to present their passports, a lot of HKers have both BNO and the HKSAR passports. So they can leave HK on HKSAR passport, and then enter UK on their BNO.

 

[kamchatsky]

I think this scheme is a good thing for HK people, but I also believe this is the end of HK, as many people will leave under this scheme... Looking at the details, it is a very generous scheme, and easy to apply... Also I believe this is NOT the FINAL scheme, as I heard 1 commentator who is an expert, the FINAL solution is to issue British citizenship to HK people who were part of the British rule, and their descendants.

Whilst I would love to see it happen, I cannot see it happening though. As that would allow a lot more people to go to UK and they have just done a Brexit to prevent all the immigration from Europe.

 

[tomlee1986]

Whilst I would love to see it happen, I cannot see it happening though. As that would allow a lot more people to go to UK and they have just done a Brexit to prevent all the immigration from Europe.

I believe that the UK people want to hand back British citizenship to these people.. such as the "Windrush scandal"

Post automatically merged: Jul 24, 2020

For sure - the Uk can allow anyone to enter and stay. China could however impose exit permits.

I wont be surprised war will happen soon because of it... this is basically kidnapping foreigners as hostages

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Not sure how though, HK residents can leave HK using their Permanent ID card. Even if they have to present their passports, a lot of HKers have both BNO and the HKSAR passports. So they can leave HK on HKSAR passport, and then enter UK on their BNO.

You simply put a block on HKSAR passports, HK ID or BNO being to leave unless an exit permit has been issued. Checking eligibility of departing passengers is common place... for example most countries will stop someone who has exceeded their visa. No different to stop someone without an exit permit.

 

[kamchatsky]

You simply put a block on HKSAR passports, HK ID or BNO being to leave unless an exit permit has been issued. Checking eligibility of departing passengers is common place... for example most countries will stop someone who has exceeded their visa. No different to stop someone without an exit permit.

China recognise the HKSAR Passport which most HKers have anyway. So unless they really want to block most HKers which would then cause even more damage to HK in economic and financial status of the world.

It would be hard for China to check whether a person has a current BNO passport (as well as a current HKSAR passport) as all the data are stored in UK, and UK won't provide those information to China.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

China recognise the HKSAR Passport which most HKers have anyway. So unless they really want to block most HKers which would then cause even more damage to HK in economic and financial status of the world.

It would be hard for China to check whether a person has a current BNO passport (as well as a current HKSAR passport) as all the data are stored in UK, and UK won't provide those information to China.

The logistics of blocking a citizen departing (in this case citizens of HK SAR) is simple and straightforward. Having a BNO is perhaps somewhat irrelevant, it matters not if China wishes to impose an exit permit control. That essentially means everyone leaving the SAR would need a permit. If you are legitimately going on a holiday, or leaving for work, that can be verified with a few background check. Selling up to move to the UK is a little harder to hide.

 

[p--and--t]

The logistics of blocking a citizen departing (in this case citizens of HK SAR) is simple and straightforward. Having a BNO is perhaps somewhat irrelevant, it matters not if China wishes to impose an exit permit control. That essentially means everyone leaving the SAR would need a permit. If you are legitimately going on a holiday, or leaving for work, that can be verified with a few background check. Selling up to move to the UK is a little harder to hide.

I would not be surprised in the least if China's government hacking organisation hasn't already begun or already completed accessing the records in the UK and already knows or will soon know who to target.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

for sure. But it doesn’t even have to be as sophisticated as that. Simply access wechat and check what people are saying (although many of my HK friends have stopped using wechat now)

 

[tomlee1986]

for sure. But it doesn’t even have to be as sophisticated as that. Simply access wechat and check what people are saying (although many of my HK friends have stopped using wechat now)

Wechat being a Chinese run company.. expect the CCP to gain access to the accounts just like baidu search engjine

 

[p--and--t]

for sure. But it doesn’t even have to be as sophisticated as that. Simply access wechat and check what people are saying (although many of my HK friends have stopped using wechat now)

Wechat being a Chinese run company.. expect the CCP to gain access to the accounts just like baidu search engjine

It has already been reported many times on other forums, allegedly WeChat data and message transfer is actually controlled and filtered by the CCP.

Allegedly, if you attempt to send a copy of a picture of Pooh Bear - it will never be delivered as the gov filters such messages considered to be impolite references to Xi. If you make certain statements in messages, expect a visit from the authorities if you are in China or on your return to China.

Allegedly, TikTok (another Chinese company) has allegedly inbuilt spyware and I saw reports some govs are advising against using it.

China Intercepts WeChat Texts From U.S. And Abroad, Researchers Say

Cyber researchers say the Chinese chat app censors millions of messages in a given day and stores them with user info. NPR spoke to U.S. citizens who say their messages were blocked.

www.npr.org

WeChat's privacy issues mean you should delete China's No. 1 messaging app

WeChat's dismal security rating leaves many Australians with an age-old dilemma – is the price of engaging with China worth it?

www.afr.com

WeChat appears to be spying on foreigners' chats to fuel censorship algorithm

In a recent study, researchers found that WeChat is spying on chats from foreigners without disclosing that it's doing so.

www.androidauthority.com

Why China’s tech-savvy millennials are quitting WeChat

Disillusioned users are leaving China’s most popular social network over growing privacy fears, but doing so comes at a cost

www.scmp.com

Warning—Apple Suddenly Catches TikTok Secretly Spying On Millions Of iPhone Users

If you are a TikTok user, you should be worried—here's what you need to know.

www.forbes.com

TikTok secretly loaded with Chinese spy software, lawsuit claims

Viral app's 'lighthearted fun comes at a heavy cost'

www.independent.co.uk

 

[tomlee1986]

It has already been reported many times on other forums, allegedly WeChat data and message transfer is actually controlled and filtered by the CCP.

Allegedly, if you attempt to send a copy of a picture of Pooh Bear - it will never be delivered as the gov filters such messages considered to be impolite references to Xi. If you make certain statements in messages, expect a visit from the authorities if you are in China or on your return to China.

Allegedly, TikTok (another Chinese company) has inbuilt spyware and I think I saw reports the AU? gov has advised against using it.

This is exactly why I would NOT willingly enter China for holiday as I am against the government of CCP. I do NOT have tiktok app installed on my phone as I am distrusting of apps that are built in China AND run by chinese companies

 

[blue_bug]

Wechat/Alipay have been and are been used by CCP to track the movements of their users as well.

How else would CCP able to track down some 150k people within 48 hours of the Covid outbreak in Beijing?

 

[wandering_fred]

Maybe I missed something, but isn't anyone born in Hong Kong before "handover" eligible for a BNO passport? By that criteria, no snooping of anything is required..... Every passport has a birth date and birth location.

Should I or should I not think about wandering
Fred

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Maybe I missed something, but isn't anyone born in Hong Kong before "handover" eligible for a BNO passport? By that criteria, no snooping of anything is required..... Every passport has a birth date and birth location.

Should I or should I not think about wandering
Fred

I think the issue was the imposition of exit permits, and how do you tell who is genuinely leaving HK to go to Bangkok for the weekend, and who is actually fleeing the country to take up life in the UK. China will allow (a), but not be happy about (b).

Going through social media will be a way to determine the latter, among other indicators.

 

[blue_bug]

Maybe I missed something, but isn't anyone born in Hong Kong before "handover" eligible for a BNO passport? By that criteria, no snooping of anything is required..... Every passport has a birth date and birth location.

Should I or should I not think about wandering
Fred

Not quite, they have to be registered (by having BNO themselves or as registered dependant children of a BNO holder) for BNO before the handover to be eligible for BNO passport.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Not quite, they have to be registered (by having BNO themselves or as registered dependant children of a BNO holder) for BNO before the handover to be eligible for BNO passport.

Yeah. But easy to change that (to make it easier to get a BNO, and waive any 'pre-handover' requirement)