Chinese embassy in UK slams BN(O) expansion for ‘manipulating’ Jimmy Lai case

The Chinese Embassy in Britain has slammed London’s “malicious” plan to expand an immigration pathway for Hongkongers after the sentencing of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to 20 years in prison, accusing the UK of “manipulating” the issue.A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday urged the UK government to stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs after it expanded the British National (Overseas) visa scheme in response to Lai’s sentencing.“The UK’s previous actions of this nature have already caused some misled Hong Kong residents to leave their homes, only to face discrimination and financial hardship upon arriving in the UK, effectively becoming ‘second-class citizens’,” he said.“The current move to further manipulate the BN(O) issue is a contemptible tactic with malicious intent.”The embassy also urged London to stop its “political manipulation” or risk “humiliating itself and reaping the bitter fruits of its own actions”.The UK’s Home Office on Monday announced that adult children of BN(O) passport holders, who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kong’s handover to China, would be independently eligible to emigrate to Britain under an expansion of the scheme.