The Chinese embassy in London criticized Britain’s decision to expand a visa scheme for Hong Kong residents on Tuesday, calling the move an interference in its internal affairs after a court sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai 20 years in prison According to the national security law.

UK Monday expand On Monday, the British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme allowed children of BNO status holders (under 18 when Hong Kong returned to mainland China in June 1997) to apply for the route independently of their parents.

“BNO misled Hong Kong residents to leave their homes, only to face discrimination and hardship in the UK and live as second-class citizens,” an embassy spokesman said in a statement. a statement CNBC Chinese translation.

The embassy called the expansion of the program “despicable” and “reprehensible.”

A spokesman for the embassy said that China has always firmly opposed British manipulation and interference in China’s internal affairs.

The plan was launched in 2021 after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong. Since then, more than 230,000 people have been granted visas and nearly 170,000 have moved to the UK

Diplomatic relations were tense after a Hong Kong court handed down the verdict against Jimmy Lai on Monday in one of the city’s most high-profile prosecutions. This is the heaviest penalty ever imposed under the national security law.

The 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily was an outspoken critic of Beijing and was one of the first high-profile people to be arrested in August 2020. He was jailed for conspiring to collude with foreign powers and publishing inflammatory material. Lai has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raise the case with the Chinese President Xi Jinping During a visit to Beijing last month, he called for the release of British citizen Jimmy Lai. Critics and Lai’s family believe Britain has not taken enough and concrete steps to reverse the situation.

The British government said in a statement that the verdict showed how national security laws imposed by Beijing “criminalize dissent, prompting many people to leave the UK”, adding that it would “quickly engage further (with Beijing) on ​​Mr Lai’s case”.

The expansion of visa pathways comes amid what the UK government says is a “deterioration of rights and freedoms” in Hong Kong. The government estimates that 26,000 people will arrive in the UK over the next five years.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that all harm committed by Jimmy Lai, including “using Apple Daily to poison citizens’ minds” and “colluding with foreign forces to impose sanctions and hostilities against China and Hong Kong”, should be punished with harsh sentences.

After the ruling, other governments renewed their calls for Jimmy Lai’s release. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Called the ruling “unjust and tragic” And urged the authorities to grant Lai humanitarian parole.