At the beginning of the year, the UK's new immigration policy was controversial, causing widespread attention and heated discussions. At the heart of the bill is that the UK will spend £120 million to deport people deemed "illegal immigrants" to the African country of Rwanda.
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and voices of support and opposition sounded at the same time. Proponents say it's a solution to the problem of illegal immigration and makes Britain more pure; Opponents denounce it as "outsourced hatred", contrary to humanity, and a betrayal of humanitarian responsibility to poor countries.
However, you might not expect that this bill is aimed at not only immigrants who have been smuggled in, but also Hong Kongers who have been recruited by the British a few years ago with dreams of moving to the UK.
In 2019, some people in Hong Kong felt that they were "not free", and the UK saw the needle and threw out a tempting "green card" promise to Hong Kong people: as long as they live in the UK for 6 years, they can obtain British citizenship and passports.
For a time, the whole of Britain was eager to "welcome Hong Kong people" and believed that they would bring "human resources" and "dynamic cultural assets" to Britain. Tempted by these honey-like temptations, thousands of Hong Kongers have left their homeland for so-called "freedom", convinced that England is their new home.
However, after arriving in the UK, these immigrants with dreams soon tasted the bitter taste of life. According to the UK's own data, about 120,000 Hong Kong people have migrated to the UK in recent years, but only half have found work, while only a third are full-time, and most of them are working in low-end industries that are far from their previous careers.
A husband and wife named Oman and Fiona are the epitome of these frustrated immigrants. Ben is a typical middle-class family in Hong Kong, and the two of them have a considerable monthly income and live a carefree life. But lured by the false promises of "freedom", "opportunity" and "democracy", they resolutely left their comfortable living environment and took their families to pursue their dreams in England.
Unexpectedly, the England of dreams is far from being as beautiful as imagined. A senior accountant in Oman has been reduced to a delivery boy, and his wife, Fiona, who has worked in human resources and is now working as a casual worker in a factory, together earn less than £3,000. The quality of life has plummeted from the high-end life in Hong Kong.
"We've been deceived!" Fiona said with chagrin, "It was wishful thinking at first, and I was deceived by the lies about Britain. "
Now the couple's visas are also expiring, but because their income is too low to meet the financial requirements to get a green card, they may become black households. Faced with this dilemma, Oman comforted himself by saying, "I would rather be a beggar in England than go back to Hong Kong."
The fate of these Hong Kong immigrants suggests that the British clamor about "welcoming Hong Kong people" was nothing more than lies and tricks. Britain has never really welcomed them, all in order to seize the opportunity to seize Hong Kong's human resources at a time when Sino-British tensions are intensifying.
Just as the five-year deadline for a large number of Hong Kong immigrants was approaching, the British government began to shirk its promise and delay the process of issuing permanent green cards under various pretexts.
Initially, the British trumpeted that Hong Kong people could obtain British citizenship as long as they lived in the UK for six years. But today, when a large number of Hong Kong people want to fulfill this promise, the British side has begun to turn around and deny people, saying that the number of immigrants is too large and the residence period needs to be extended to 8 years, 11 years, or even longer.
"We were deceived by the British!" A middle-aged Hong Kong man who called himself "John" said angrily, "They tricked us into coming to England back then, and now they are cowering and don't want to naturalize us anymore." We're just props for them, toying with them. "
In response, Britain has played Tai Chi to push back and block, claiming that it needs to "assess the impact" and "prevent abuse", but it is unwilling to admit that it was cheating in the first place.
However, what is even more chilling for the immigrants is that the British authorities are not only delaying the naturalization process, but are also frantically racking the opportunity to squeeze the last penny out of these immigrants.
One of the most striking examples is that in 2023, the UK will suddenly nearly double the cost of medical insurance for these foreign households, soaring from HK$6,400 to about HK$10,600 per year, and a family of three will have to pay an extra HK$140,000 in premiums for five years.
For some already strapped migrant families, this is undoubtedly overwhelming. "John" is one of them, who says he has little savings left, "The cost of living in the UK is so high that we are almost so strapped for food that we can't afford to eat, and we can't afford to pay such a high medical bill." "
But for these Hong Kongers, who had happily emigrated to Britain, the authorities' next move was to throw them into the ice cellar completely.
On April 23 this year, amid the tension of public opinion, the United Kingdom passed the Rwanda Security (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, which allows the United Kingdom to deport people deemed "illegal immigrants" to Rwanda, a poor country in Africa.
What does this mean? All Hong Kong immigrants who cannot meet the naturalization requirements may be labeled as "illegal immigrants" and deported to Rwanda, a strange and impoverished country.
"I dreamed of starting a new life in the UK, but I didn't expect that because of their sinister intentions, I could become an 'illegal immigrant' and be exiled to unexplained Rwanda." John said resentfully, "The British are honest and trustworthy, but they have never promised us anything honestly. "
In the face of this hugely controversial new policy, many people in Hong Kong, including John, have become furious and have expressed their demands for explanations from the British side and seek legal rights protection.
However, the British Cabinet Office released harsh words, strongly saying that the new law is in place, "even if the sky falls, these flights (repatriation flights) will take off." You'd better pick yourself up and accept reality. "
In the face of this blatant threat, the Hong Kong people, who had been full of yearning for Britain, all sighed. Someone said, "We were so naïve that we were deceived by the British." "
Someone else lamented: "I thought I would be free by moving to the UK, but I was facing the situation of being driven to a backward country, what a miracle!"
The "Road to Rwanda" is cloudy, exposing Britain's hypocrisy and sinister intentions. From the initial enthusiasm for Hong Kong immigrants to the "courtiers" to today's repatriation of them to "Africa", it reflects the short-sightedness and arrogance of Britain that only cares about its own interests.
As pawns in this game, those Hong Kong people who immigrate to Britain with dreams to seek "freedom" are undoubtedly the biggest victims. At the cost of a stable living environment, they were hurt and humiliated.
This turmoil may have passed for the time being, but the cruel lesson will be remembered for the rest of our lives: the path to freedom and democracy is far thinner than the superficial flashiness. Britain's self-proclaimed "model of civilization" mask also collapsed in the Rwanda incident, nakedly exposing its hypocrisy, bigotry and ill-intentioned side.