they felt their freedom of speech was being threatened with new risks of deportation to china and possible torture. the hong kong government denied this and condemned what they described as riots, saying they endangered public safety. the protests were eventually quashed. the chinese government then brought in a national security law, which they said was needed to protect the city. the law gave china powers to punish protesters, control the education system, social media and the press. many hong kongers felt this law impacted their civil liberties, making it impossible for them to stay. but for some, there was a new way out. we will put in place new arrangements to allow those in hong kong who hold british national overseas passports to come to the uk. we will never abandon our commitment to the freedom of hong kong and its people. in january last year, the uk government introduced a route that let millions of hong kongers move to britain. those who were born before the 1997 handover o