Britains offer of safe haven to people in Hong Kong was followed by a statement from Australias prime minister, Scott Morrison, announcing that his country, too, would give them refuge. In Canada, pressure is growing on Justin Trudeaus government to make a similar gesture.
The Australian offer follows a request from the UK last month to its partners in the Five Eyes network – the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada – to consider burden sharing if there is a mass exodus from Hong Kong. There has not been any official statement on the matter from New Zealand. The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on a number of Chinese officials, but has not said whether Hong Kong residents would gain entry to the US.
Chinas response to the UKs granting of right of residency to the people of Hong Kong has been belligerent, claiming that London has no right to make the offer and threatening retaliation. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who is held up in China as an example of the countrys new breed of combative wolf warrior diplomats, said: China strongly condemns this and reserves the right to take further measures. The British side will bear all the consequences.
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