Brexit and the border, the view from Hong Kong

Finbarr Bermingham

“All I know is that Northern Ireland is not part of the UK so it will remain part of the EU even if Brexit happens.”

That was the highlight of a bit of canvassing I did over WhatsApp this week, finding out what my friends in Asia think about Brexit and the effect it may have on Northern Ireland. I didn’t drill too deep – not many Hong Kongers have heard of Fermanagh. In fact, when I tell people where I come from, I’m often asked about the Northern Lights or geysers. But the answer was illustrative, nonetheless.

I have been working as a journalist in Hong Kong for four years, reporting on international trade. The last two years have been in the shadow of Brexit and Trump. With regard the US president, the story is constantly changing: it’s nearly impossible to keep on top of his rule-by-tweet approach to trade policy. Brexit, on the other hand, has been like a broken record. There seems to be little progress being made, with the threat of “no deal” now very real.

Most of the trade experts I speak to about Brexit still can’t believe it’s actually happening. “Any other nation on the world would give their right arm to be a member of the EU,” one New Zealand trade negotiator told me recently. EU exporters can trade freely with the likes of Australia, Japan and Singapore. It is negotiating trade agreements with China and India, among others – these things take many years to complete. The UK, post-Brexit, will have to start negotiating afresh.

But few have given much consideration to the special situation facing Fermanagh and other parts of Northern Ireland. As well as losing access to far flung markets in Asia, the reintroduction of a hard border would be politically, economically and culturally divisive. I have not-so fond memories of being driven over the border as a child and army rifles poking through the car window. People here are shocked when you tell them that this happened the 1980s and ‘90s in Northern Ireland.

Fermanagh is not a big place, nor do we often feature prominently in the global news cycle. I can forgive my friends in Hong Kong for not being up to speed on the nuances of local politics. The lack of awareness of Northern Ireland’s history and geography displayed closer to home, however, is less forgivable. For many prominent Brexiteers, the border issue seems to be a minor nuisance – just another example of meddlesome EU red tape. The truth is, when campaigning for a “leave” vote, the border wasn’t even an afterthought.

Our case is hardly helped by the fact that we are approaching a world record for the longest stint without a sitting government in Stormont. At a pivotal time in our history, the border counties should be at the forefront of the discussion. Yet, the local community doesn’t appear to be given the voice it deserves in Stormont, Westminster or further afield (it’s heartening, though, to see the efforts of local activists like Dylan Quinn).

Contrast this with the steady stream of senior Irish government ministers visiting Hong Kong this year. As well as pushing Irish exports to China and Hong Kong, each has gone out of

their way to warn about the potentially disastrous fallout of a hard border. Each has said they’ll do everything in their power to stop it from happening. Exasperated, one Irish minister told me (off the record) that when it comes to the Westminster’s negotiating team, “the lunatics are running the asylum”. It’s a desperate situation to watch from afar – a car crash in slow motion.

Back on the WhatsApp survey, one American friend said that “maybe Brexit will lead to Ireland and Northern Ireland getting married”. I couldn’t quite tell if she was being serious. “They should not introduce a hard border. It is silly,” was the response from a Singaporean friend. I couldn’t disagree with him. That, in very simple terms, is about the height of it