新闻来源：HKFP《香港自由新聞》| 作者：AFP Jerome Taylor & Yan Zhao | 发布时间：January 31, 2021 /2021年1月31日
翻译/简评：新街口|校对/审核：万人往|Page：小雨
简评：
香港就是一面中共的照妖镜。“今日新疆，明日香港”是爆料革命在2019年香港“反送中”运动中向世界进行的大声疾呼；遗憾的是一年后的今天，香港人的命运正在越来越接近中共统治下的新疆维族人的悲惨境地。
从上世纪五十年代起，在一个民主、法治的社会体系内，香港人用自己的勤劳和智慧，把香港从一个小渔村变成了世界知名的加工制造中心；然后又与世界同步发展，把香港建设成了最大的贸易中心；现在又变成了世界第三大金融中心。香港人向世界证明，华人完全可以生活在一个有法律、有自由、有民主的社会中，可以守法、勤劳、和平地制造财富，建设一个富足的民主社会。香港在2010年以前的飞速发展，让世界知道了中共所谓的西方民主不适合中国国情，完全是个彻头彻尾的谎言。
然而，近10多年来，中共不断背信《中英联合声明》中香港自治五十年不变的承诺，逐步蚕食、破坏香港的民主与法治。中共在香港修改法律、控制选举、培植黑警，直到2020年强行引入国安恶法，对合理、合法抗争的香港人进行残暴地镇压和迫害。这更让世界看到了中共独裁暴政、以警治国、以黑治国的流氓政权本质。
此次英国开发新签证，把那些不甘于中共统治的香港人救出香港，虽然来得有点晚，但毕竟对于香港同胞也是一线希望。
反观中共，竟然狗急跳墙，拒绝承认香港护照为合法的旅行证件。中共的“留港不留人”的目的世人皆知，这种表态无非就是要表明香港人就是他们的肉票：你的人命、你的财产都是它中共说了算。我们可以预见，针对香港人实施类似新疆维族人的那种集中营的管理模式很快就要开始了。
原文翻译：
UK predicts 322,000 Hongkongers may arrive in next 5 years as new visa scheme opens
英国预测，随着新签证计划的开放，未来5年可能有32.2万香港人抵达
by AFP 10:48, 31 JANUARY 2021|法新社 2021年1月31日10：48
by Jerome Taylor & Yan Zhao
Britain predicts up to 154,000 Hong Kongers could arrive over the next year and as many as 322,000 over five years, bringing an estimated "net benefit" of up to £2.9 billion (US$4 billion).
英国预测，明年将有15.4万香港人到达本土；而在未来五年内，将有32.2万香港人到来，估计带来的“净收益”将高达29亿英镑（40亿美元）。
A new visa scheme offering millions of HongKongers a pathway to British citizenship went live on Sunday as the city’s former colonial master opens its doors to those wanting to escape China’s crackdown on dissent.
一项新的签证计划周日启用，该签证计划为数百万香港人提供获得英国公民身份的途径，该城市的前殖民统治者向那些希望逃避中共国镇压的异见人士敞开大门。
Anyone with a British National (Overseas) passport and their dependents can now apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in the United Kingdom. After five years, they can apply for citizenship.
现在，拥有英国国民（海外）护照及其家属的任何人都可以在线申请签证，以使他们能够在英国生活和工作。五年后，他们可以申请公民身份。
The immigration scheme is a response to Beijing’s decision last year to impose a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong to snuff out the huge and often violent democracy protests.
这项移民计划是针对去年北京决定对香港实施全面的国家安全法以暴力消除大规模的民主抗议活动的回应。
Britain has accused China of tearing up its promise ahead of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover that the financial hub would maintain key liberties and autonomy for 50 years, and has argued it has a moral duty to protect its former subjects.
英国指责中共国违背了1997年移交香港前承诺的，即维护香港这个金融中心的主要自由和自治权50年不变。英国称，有道义和责任保护其先前的国民。
“We have honoured our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of the scheme this week.
鲍里斯•约翰逊总理本周在谈到这一计划时说：“我们尊重我们与香港人民的深厚历史联系和友谊，我们捍卫香港的自由和自治。”
The website for visa applications went online at 5pm in Hong Kong (0900 GMT).
签证申请网站于香港时间下午5点（格林尼治标准时间09：00）上线。
China has reacted with fury to the visa offer, announcing that it would no longer recognise the passports as a legitimate travel or ID document.
中共国对该签证感到愤怒，宣布不再将（BNO）护照视为合法的旅行证件或身份证件。
The move was largely symbolic as Hong Kongers tend to use their own passports or ID cards to leave the city.
此举在很大程度上具有象征意义，因为香港人倾向于使用自己的护照或身份证离港。
But Beijing said it was prepared to take “further measures”, raising fears authorities might try to stop Hong Kongers from leaving for Britain.
但是北京方面表示，准备采取“进一步措施”，这引发了人们对当局可能试图阻止香港人离开香港去英国的恐惧。
On Sunday, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China’s State Council said it strongly condemned the British for violating its promise not to give BN(O) passport holders right of residence.
周日，中共国国务院港澳事务办公室表示强烈谴责英国违反了其不给予BN（O）护照持有人居住权的承诺。
“This is a flagrant offense of China’s sovereignty, and we firmly oppose it,” it said.
它说：“这是对中国主权的公然侵犯，我们坚决反对。”
The office claimed the UK was beautifying its colonial history and called this “a shameless logic of bandits’, seriously hurting the feelings of the Chinese”.
该办公室声称英国正在美化其殖民历史，并称其为“土匪的无耻逻辑，严重损害了中国人的感情”。
In a commentary on Sunday, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency accused Britain of having a “colonial mentality”.
在周日的评论中，中共国新华社指责英国具有“殖民主义心态”。
Applications soar
签证数量飙升
It is not clear how many Hong Kongers will take up the offer — especially as the coronavirus restricts international flights and mires much of the world, including Britain, in a painful economic malaise.
目前尚不清楚有多少香港人会接受这个提议，尤其是当冠状病毒限制了国际航班，并使包括英国在内的世界大部分地区陷入痛苦的经济危机泥潭中。
But the visa offer is available to a huge number of people — about 70 percent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population.
但是该签证提供给了大量的人，约占香港750万人口的70％。
Applications for BN(O) passports have skyrocketed more than 300 percent since the national security law was imposed last July, with 733,000 registered holders as of mid-January.
自去年7月国家安全法颁布以来，BN（O）护照的申请量猛增了300％以上，截至1月中旬，已注册持有人73.3万。
Britain predicts up to 154,000 Hong Kongers could arrive over the next year and as many as 322,000 over five years, bringing an estimated “net benefit” of up to £2.9 billion ($4 billion).
英国预测，明年将有15.4万香港人到达，五年内将有32.2万香港人到达，带来的“净收益”估计高达29亿英镑（40亿美元）。
The BN(O) passport is a legacy of Hong Kong’s return to authoritarian China.
BN（O）护照是香港回归专制中共国的遗留产物。
Many Hong Kongers at the time wanted Britain to grant them full citizenship but China was opposed to the move.
当时许多香港人希望英国给予他们正式的国籍，但中共国反对这一举动。
The BN(O) was a compromise, allowing Hong Kongers born before 1997 the right to stay in Britain for six months at a time, but with no working or settling rights.
BN（O）是一种妥协，允许1997年之前出生的香港人有权一次在英国逗留六个月，但没有工作或定居权。
Now it has become one of the few ways out for Hong Kongers hoping to start a new life overseas as authorities conduct mass arrests of democracy supporters and move to purge the city of dissent.
现在，随着当局大规模逮捕民主人士并清除持不同政见者，这已成为香港人希望在海外重新生活的少数出路之一。
‘A lifeboat’
“救生艇”
Stella, a former marketing professional, plans to move to Britain imminently with her husband and three-year-old son.
Stella是一位前市场营销专家，她计划与丈夫和三岁的儿子立即移居英国。
“The national security law in 2020 gave us one last kick because the provisions are basically criminalising free speech,” she told AFP, asking to use just her first name.
她告诉法新社（只透露了她的名字）：“2020年的国家安全法给了我们最后一击，因为这些规定基本上将言论自由定为犯罪。”
Under the visa scheme, those hoping to move must show they have the funds to sustain both themselves and their dependents for at least six months.
根据签证计划，那些希望搬家的人必须证明他们有足够的资金维持自己和他们的家属至少六个月。
Hong Kongers already in Britain who are involved in helping others relocate say many of the early applicants tend to be educated middle-class people, often with young families, who have enough liquidity to finance their move.
已经在英国从事协助他人移民的香港人说，许多早期申请者往往是受过教育的中产阶级，通常是年轻的家庭，他们有足够的流动性资产来资助他们的搬迁。
“Most people we spoke with are families with primary school- or nursery-age kids,” Nic, an activist with a group called Lion Rock Hill UK, told AFP, asking for anonymity.
“与我们交谈的大多数人都是有小学或托儿年龄的孩子的家庭。”英国狮子山（Lion Rock Hill UK）社团活动家尼克（不愿意透露姓名）告诉法新社。
Some Hong Kongers began leaving the city even before the new scheme went live.
在新计划生效之前，一些香港人就开始离开这座城市。
Earlier this week, Britain said around 7,000 people moved over the last six months under a separate Leave Outside the Rules (LOTR) system. They will also be able to apply for the pathway-to-citizenship visas.
英国本周早些时候表示，在过去的六个月中，大约有7000人利用Leave Outside the Rules (LOTR) 的签证系统到达英国。他们也将能够申请公民身份签证。
“The BNO is definitely a lifeboat for Hong Kongers,” Mike, a medical scientist who recently relocated with his family to Manchester, told AFP.
“BNO绝对是香港人的救生艇。”最近与家人搬到曼彻斯特的医学科学家迈克（Mike）告诉法新社。
He said many Hong Kongers feared China might stop residents leaving the territory.
他说，许多香港人担心中共会阻止居民离开香港。
“So it is better to leave as soon as possible,” he added.
他补充说：“所以最好尽快离开。”
🔗原文链接
编辑：【英国伦敦喜庄园编辑部】Edited by：【Himalaya London Club UK】