At Hong Kong handover party in 1997 I told Tony Blair that Britain will become the Hong Kong of Europe. People thought I had lost the plot and I suggested then that we should give any disgruntled Hong Kong people a UK passport.
Post Brexit and recent events the reality of this took a step closer yesterday as The British Government opened the door for citizenship for more than 300,000 people. The Hong Kong people are hard working and industrious people with and would be a major contributor to the nation. Many I suspect would love to remain in HK and recreation of that environment here is difficult for them to grasp. Additionally the tax rates in HK are lower than UK though our UK tax system could alter post Brexit to lower taxes and create offshore Europe a financial centre that attracts the world players as HK did previously. When locations become the home of Money then money needs a home.
An influx of 300,000 would also kick start the sagging , lagging residential market and take up those 30,000 apartments in London which are lying empty as I write, new builds of Battersea and beyond. Birmingham is a favourite location and Manchester has its China Town. Britain can house the people if we try harder. Watch this space but events Far East are warming and Britain needs all the kick starts it can get post Brexit and Covid. If we do allow Huawei access to our communications infrastructure they may well have 300,000 more customers from UK to place under their wing. I’m told the camera and watch are superb.
400 years ago the Mayflower left Plymouth for the new world America and nearly two hundred years ago the Scots headed off to Hong Kong went with their tea ships to trade. Now the ships could be coming back with a new takeaway, back to Britain. There is nothing new under the sun and movement of peoples is still with us. The exploits of Victorian Britain in Asia , HK and India included are now coming back to not so much haunt us but to remind us that conquest brings responsibility and like children they never quite leave home.
qbitblogger 