The UK has offered blanket citizenship to the people of Hong Kong. Sound move. I don't want to undermine that effort, because they really should have first dibs, but I would be happy for America to take those who can't fit into England. Sight unseen. Yes, I know that the PRC will try to insert many of its own people into whatever we take, but I still think we are net positive.
I'd be glad to trade them some American communists back, but you and I both know that none will go. Being a Marxist in America is a sweet gig.
As one who has been through the UK immigration system, I'll say the offer isn't quite so simple -
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read, the new rights are only for those Hongkongers who hold British National (Overseas) passports. Some ~350,000 people in Hong Kong have had these passports, that allowed visa free travel to the UK for up to 6 months at a time, but not settlement or work rights. Another two and a half million in Hong Kong would be entitled to these passports if they applied for them. That leaves another 4.5 million in Hong Kong who weren't Hong Kong citizens when it was under Britsh control. There's no jus sanguinis of this status to children of current holders, for example.
And it's not automatic citizenship, changes the status of those with this passport such that they can enter, live and work in the UK for up to 5 years, and then when resident in the UK apply for citizenship.
So essentially a limited offer (you can come and live in the UK and apply for citizenship) that is only open to people who were born & resident in Hong Kong when it was under British Control before 1 July 97.
I think that leaves plenty of good folk who would find the USA appealing.
There is talk about applying it more broadly. Hopefully they will.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_(Overseas)_passport
ReplyDeleteI was flying back from Paris once. The airplane had to be changed at the last moment, and the replacement plane was configured with no First Class. I was in Business Class; the guy sitting next to me had previoulsy been in First, and he was quite upset at the downgrade. (Business Class on Air France is very nice, or at least was then.)
ReplyDeleteHe kept talking about his unhappiness about the downgrade. In an attempt to get him to talk about something else, I asked him what kind of work he did.
He was a professional Communist organizer, returning from some kind of Communist meeting in Paris.
80% will vote Democrat.
ReplyDelete@ Harold - if that is so, it would be worrisome. Please expand. I would love to hear your reasoning on this.
ReplyDeleteFrom USA Today: "The Asian American electorate is trending increasingly Democratic. Exit polling from the 2018 election showed that 77% of Asian Americans voted for Democrats."
ReplyDeleteLooking at Wikipedia, it appears most of the HK political parties are center-left or worse.
David Foster said, "He was a professional Communist organizer, returning from some kind of Communist meeting in Paris." What a rotten Commie he was!
ReplyDelete