Brexit chaos stirs bafflement in UK ex-colonies

Across much of Britain's former Asian colonies, many are greeting the UK's impending departure from the European Union with a mixture of bafflement, apathy, amusement -- and a touch of schadenfreude.

Britain long justified imperial subjugation by arguing Rule Britannia brought order, stability and shared prosperity -- even after its retreat from colonialism birthed a host of troubled new nations still saddled with historical grievances and legacies to this day.

Now Brits face a chaos and internal division of their own making, alongside potential isolation and years of economic hardship -- particularly if the UK crashes out with no deal on April 12.

"I was born and brought up in this British colony called Hong Kong and used to think that the Brits were a very sensible people," remarked Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy lawmaker in the financial hub.

"I've been watching Brexit process as a former colonial person and it's almost like a farce, it's sadly funny, sadly amusing. I'm baffled as to why and how things got to where they are now. To outsiders it's almost unthinkable," she told AFP.

Mo, 62, came of age politically during a turbulent period for her birthplace sparked by Britain's colonial legacy -- the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China.

Unlike Brexit, Hong Kongers had no say in their future and many were desperate to obtain British passports in case the handover unleashed chaos.

Many youngsters, Mo said, are still looking for opportunities overseas given Beijing's increasingly authoritarian grip, but they may be less inclined to opt for Britain.

"I think their first choices here are more likely Australia and Canada," she remarked.

In India, Sreeram Chaulia, dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs, said many regard Brexit as the latest chapter in what has been a "sharp decline in the place Britain commands as a great power".

"They are not a gold standard to look up to," he said.

"We get a feeling of a sinking ship and everybody wants to leave a sinking ship."
"Brexit itself is a policy of white supremacists," lamented student Aishwarya Proma, adding she feared it will "just push more... immigrants (to) go back to their countries."
"The pound is probably going into freefall."