More than 35,000 Hongkongers have applied for Britain’s new visa schemeThe government is urging Hongkongers to apply for Britain’s new visa scheme online because China is stationing agents outside application centres. Ministers have been given intelligence that undercover agents are spying on dissidents coming and going from two centres in Hong Kong. SponsoredIt is feared that they are passing on names and photos of dissidents to the Chinese authorities in an attempt to block their departure. The Times revealed last week that Chinese spies were posing as dissidents in an attempt to enter Britain through its Hong Kong visa scheme. Nathan Law: Why I fled Hong KongThe Home Office has put in extra background checks for the visa applications, which are “much more thorough than any other”, sources said.

Source: The Times August 16, 2021 22:52 UTC