After the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, many Hong Kong people who experienced the anti-amendment movement decided to leave their homes for safety reasons. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs passes a bill calling on the government to grant temporary protection status to persecuted Hong Kong residents in the U.S. and to expedite the processing of their refugee claims. For the first time, the U.S. State Department added Hong Kong to its list of refugee admissions programs.
The State Department is required by law to submit its refugee admissions plan for the fiscal year 2021, which begins Oct. 1, for congressional comment. The statement said the U.S. plans to accept more than 300,000 refugees and asylum claims, including 15,000 through the refugee admissions program.
The program proposes to prioritize those who are persecuted on religious grounds, as well as Iraqis at risk for assisting the U.S., while Hong Kong and Cuba are in the same group as Venezuela and other countries, with a cap of 5,000.
President Trump earlier signed an executive order on Hong Kong’s National Security Act, which includes granting a portion of the refugee quota to Hong Kong people on humanitarian grounds, which is the first time Hong Kong has been included in the list of countries and regions that will take in refugees.
Two young people from Hong Kong who were part of last year’s anti-amendment campaign were recently granted political asylum by letter from the U.S. government. The two were seeking asylum after entering the U.S., and the refugee program is for those who face danger outside the U.S.,” said Cheng Chuen-chu, a student leader of the 1989 pro-democracy movement who helped them.
He said, “I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do that. In the past, the U.S. government has offered a fixed number of places to people who have been granted refugee status around the world. This year the U.S. has taken the initiative to make special arrangements for Hong Kong people. If a Hong Konger escapes from Hong Kong and is granted recognized refugee status in another country, the quota can be given to the Hong Konger first.”
Hong Kong Used to Assist Refugees, Now Hong Kongers Are Refugees
Cunju Zheng works as an immigration consultant for a law firm in Los Angeles. He was saddened to see Hong Kong included in the U.S. refugee admissions program for the first time.
He said, “According to the U.S. understanding, the human rights situation in Hong Kong is now very bad, drastically changing, and the enactment of the national security law by China (Hong Kong) should also be a contingency, so it would equate (Hong Kong) to the same (area) as Cuba and Venezuela. Indeed, this gives us a very sad feeling, because Hong Kong is a place where there are no refugees. Hong Kong used to be a place that helped refugees, and as a result, today Hong Kong people are also fleeing and seeking help from the international community, as well as resettlement of refugees, and to be compared to a communist country like Cuba is really a sad thing.”
In addition, the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress passed, without objection, the “Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act,” a bill introduced by Democratic lawmakers that would require the Executive Branch to find, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, that Hong Kong people cannot safely return to Hong Kong due to special circumstances, and that they would be eligible if they are Hong Kong permanent residents and Chinese citizens when they arrive in the U.S., have been in the U.S. for a period of time since the bill took effect, and are Apply for Temporary Protected Status. Hong Kong people who are granted this status would be able to remain in the United States legally and obtain work permits. The bill would help certain Hong Kong people, including protesters and leaders of civil society organizations, to expedite their applications to become refugees.
Mr. Chu, director of the Hong Kong Democracy Committee, a group of overseas Hong Kong residents who are wanted by the Hong Kong police, said the passage of the bill reflects the U.S. support for the democracy movement in Hong Kong. He said that in the minds of many members of the U.S. Congress, Hong Kong has gone from being the most open city in China to the least free city.
Most importantly, the bill proposes ways to protect the young people of Hong Kong who played an important role in the protests,” Zhu said. Many of these protesters were born after 1997, do not have British nationals’ overseas passports, and may not have the educational and economic background required for investment immigration. The refugee admissions program is particularly important for Hong Kongers involved in the pro-democracy movement.”
The Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act awaits passage by the full House of Representatives and Senate, and transmission to the President of the United States for signature.
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