#BNO #UK
UK Launches Immigration Route for Hong Kong's BNO Holders and Families, Welcoming Pro-democracy Protesters

The British government announced on October 22, 2020, that the Hong Kong BNO Visa will open for application from January 31, 2021, with no quota being set.

British Consul-General Andrew Heyn stressed in his statement that no attempt would be made to reject applications from those being convicted for involving in non-violent protests or exercising the freedom of expression.

London originally planned to extend the immigration rights of BNO holders on July 1, 2020 the day after China imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong. The British government explained that the attempt to alter BNO status was a response to the Chinese Government's hindrane of the rights, freedoms and autonomy of Hong Kong citizens which was also a violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

“The imposition of the National Security Law on Hong Kong marked a clear erosion of the rights and freedoms towards the people of this city,” said Andrew Heyn in a statement. “This new route to the UK is part of our commitment to the people of Hong Kong. The UK is ready to welcome BNO citizens and their dependents to the UK.”

Source: Stand News #Oct22
#GlobalSupport #Immigration
#Asylum

Trudeau Claims No Fear of China’s “Coercive Diplomacy”, Vows to Keep Speaking Out on Situation in Hong Kong and Other Global Human Rights Issues

The Chinese ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu has warned Canada earlier not to grant political asylum to “violent criminals” from Hong Kong. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would not stop speaking out loudly and clearly on global human rights issues, including the situation in Hong Kong and issues surrounding Uyghurs in Xinjiang. He added that he would continue criticizing China’s “coercive diplomacy.”

Just this September, Canada offered political asylum to a couple from Hong Kong and was met with objection from the Chinese government. Cong warned Canada on 15 October that it was unacceptable to offer political asylum to Hongkongers seeking protection from the Hong Kong national security law. Cong added that this move would affect the 300,000 Canadian passport holders in Hong Kong and the “health and safety” of Canadian companies in Hong Kong.

At a press conference held the following day, Trudeau responded by saying that while Canada did not want to escalate the situation, it would make it clear to its citizens that it would not stop speaking out on global human right issues and tolerate China’s “coercive diplomacy.”

Source: Stand News #Oct17

#Canada #HongKong #China #Trudeau #ConPeiwu #CoerciveDiplomacy #Asylum #Diplomacy

https://bit.ly/2Ts8xxL

#USConsulate in Hong Kong Turns Down Asylum Seeking Students

Former convenor of the pro-democracy group #StudentLocalism Tony Chun Hon-Lam was arrested for "violating national security" on Oct 27, 2020, while going to the Consulate General of the U.S. in Hong Kong to seek for help.

According to the Voice of America, four students went to the Consulate General to seek for political asylum that afternoon, but were told that they would not be offered any aid.

A consulate officer said they could not offer any protection, one of the students, with the alias "Wong", recalled after discussing with the staff. The Consulate General noted the contact method of the students and asked the four to leave.

Under U.S. law, the U.S. only considers asylum for aliens who are physically present in the country. Acording to their website, the U.S. does not grant asylum in its diplomatic premises abroad. However, among the four students, Wong is a U.S. born U.S. citizen. Wong said his travel document has been confiscated by the Hong Kong authorities as he is currently on bail. Wong does not wish to disclose too many details of his case, as he is afraid the his family would be harrassed by the police and the national security bureau: All he wants is the U.S. government can help a U.S. citizen to return to the U.S..

Source: Stand News #Oct29
#Asylum #NationalSecurityLaw #PoliticalOppression #Arrest

#NationalSecurityLaw #Asylum
HK Pro-democracy activist and Former Lawmaker #SixtusLeung seeks political asylum in US

Source: Haven Assistance; RTHK; Reuters; #Dec11

Read more
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/27242

#NationalSecurityLaw #Asylum
HK Pro-democracy activist and Former Lawmaker #SixtusLeung seeks political asylum in US

Sixtus Leung Chung-heng told a reporter on December 11, 2020 that he has fled Hong Kong and is seeking political asylum in the United States.

On his Facebook, Leung declared the severance of all ties with his family in Hong Kong and resignation from his position and duties at the pro-independence political party #Youngspiration.

The former Youngspiration member said that after being "illegitimately deprived of his representation and voting rights", he'd been bankrupted, imprisoned and harassed under the National Security Law.

Leung opinioned that conditions have deteriorated since China forcefully imposed security laws in June, 2020 in Hong Kong. “Every day when we wake up, when we look at the mobile (phone) screen, the issue of first thing that pop up is: who of our friends are being arrested; who among our friends is being sentenced to jail."

See Haven Assistance's Statement:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/27241

Leung served four weeks in prison earlier in 2020 after being convicted of taking part in an unlawful assembly while trying to push his way into a Legco meeting four years ago. He also faces bankruptcy proceedings after Legco demanded him to return almost one million dollars in salary and other funding that he received prior to his disqualification.

Leung said in Washington that he hopes to meet with advisers of President-elect Joe Biden to urge him to ramp up pressure on China, pointing out that the United States should target Hong Kong's financial sector with tougher sanctions to deprive China of its 'ATM' and force Beijing to the negotiating table over its crackdown on the SAR.

He also suggested action to block Chinese banks from using Swift, a network used by banks globally to make financial transactions, and also target Hong Kong dollar's peg to the US currency "to try to force China to back to the negotiation table".

Source: Haven Assistance; RTHK; Reuters; #Dec11
https://t.me/rthk_new_e/14683

#Oppression #HongKongProtests #DQ #LegCo #US #Refugee #HavenAssistance

#Asylum #HumanitarianCrisis
Student Shot by Police Flee Hong Kong: I Won't Get a Fair Trial Here

Source: Stand News; RTHK; Apple Daily #Dec22

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#Asylum #HumanitarianCrisis
Student Shot by Police Flee Hong Kong: I Won't Get a Fair Trial Here

Tsang Chi-kin, 19, was shot in the chest by a police officer at close distance in a pro-demicracy protest on October 1, 2019 in Hong Kong. Tsang was arrested and accused of riotting.

See videos of the shot:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/7356

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/7372

Tsang was due to appear in court on Dec 22, 2020, but did not show up. On the same day, South China Morning Post and Apple Daily published their interview with him. In the interviews, he revealed that he was among the activists rejected by US consulate in Hong Kong earlier.

According to Apple Daily, Tsang without disclosing his current location has fled Hong Kong and sever contacts with his family and friends. Tsang said
he would not face a fair trial in Hong Kong and it was very likely that he would immediately be remanded into custody if he showed up.

"The national security law wasn’t there when I was arrested. But since the law was imposed, the repression is intensifying. The situation in Hong Kong is getting worse. I don’t think I can stay in Hong Kong,” Tsang said.

Tsang revealed that he was one of five protesters who had attempted to seek asylum at the US consulate in Hong Kong on October 27, 2020.

After they were turned down, Tsang was scared that the National Security Police were awaiting them, “Having sought help from the US consulate, I can now be charged with collusion with foreign forces under the national security law"

Tsang said it would be harder for him to stay in Hong Kong, "there is no turning back...I chose this path and I will walk on."

Tsang's girlfriend Aurora (alias), aged 15, revealed in an earlier interview that she was seeking asylum in the UK. Tsang has been worrying about her safety, "My situation puts her at risk. This is one of the reasons why I urgently need to leave. We have no other option but to separate for some time--at least one of us can stay safe. I miss her. I hope we can reunite soon in a place of freedom.”

Source: Stand News; RTHK; Apple Daily #Dec22

https://bit.ly/3rgW4N7

https://bit.ly/2KN5lf0

http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1566623-20201222.htm

#TsangChiKin #Gunshot #NationalMourningDay #USConsulate #NationalSecurityLaw

Hong Kong junior high school student seeks asylum in UK

A 15-year-old girl is believed to have become the youngest Hong Kong protester ever to seek asylum in the UK. Called "Aurora," she joins a growing list of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists fleeing the territory in the wake of Beijing's increased crackdown on dissidents. DW Correspondent Phoebe Kong met "Aurora" before she travelled to the UK. Here's her story.

Source: DW #Dec18

https://www.dw.com/en/hong-kong-junior-high-school-student-seeks-asylum-in-uk/av-55985187

#HongKongProtestor #Asylum #HKerExile #UK

#Asylum #SafeHaven
Australian Senator Urges Australian Government to Accept Hongkongers Holding #BNO Passports

Source: Stand News #Jan11

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#Asylum #SafeHaven
Australian Senator Urges Australian Government to Accept Hongkongers Holding #BNO Passports

#Australia, in response to the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, had established a "safe haven" policy for Hongkongers.

The Guardian, citing data from the Department of Home Affairs, have found that only around 3,000 Hongkongers have benefitted from this programme.

Independent Senator Rex Patrick in Australia proposed that Hong Kong BNO holders and their family members should also be included in the programme.

In January 2021, over 50 pan-democratic activists were arrested for violating the National Security Law, sparking another wave of concern regarding Hongkongers long-term civil rights.

The Australian Government had announced in July 2020 that it would provide Hongkongers with a policy of convenience, allowing a maximum five-year extension for Graduate and Temporary Skill Shortage Visas, the right to apply for permanent residence, and implementing innovation and immigration policies to attract Hong Kong talents.

The Australian Government had then stated that around ten thousand technical personnel, graduates and international students from Hong Kong, and 2,500 Hongkongers not then in Australia could benefit from the new policy, with them dealing with 1,250 applications for residency from Hongkongers then.

However, The Guardian, with the data they received, showed that only 2,584 Hongkongers had their visas extended since the implementation of the new policy, with around 586 Hongkongers applying for Business Innovation and Investment visas.

Independent Senator Rex Patrick urged the Australian Government to increase its support towards Hongkongers, including receiving Hongkongers holding BNO passports and their family. He warned that the Chinese Government have been accelerating its oppression on democracy, human rights, and rule of law in Hong Kong, and that "Australia should open its doors for our Hong Kong friends seeking refuge, to allow a chance of tasting democracy and liberty."

Source: Stand News #Jan11

#Visa #Refuge #Hongkongers

#Asylum #BrainDrain
Nearly 6,000 Hongkongers Apply for #Immigration in #Canada in Just Three Months

Source: Stand News #May21

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#Asylum #BrainDrain
Nearly 6,000 Hongkongers Apply for #Immigration in #Canada in Just Three Months

After Beijing's forceful imposition of #NationalSecurityLaw in Hong Kong, several countries have decided to provide Hongkongers shelter schemes.

From the latest figures released by the Canadian Immigration Department on 20 May 2021, a total of 5,727 applications have been received as of 18 May.

When the scheme was introduced on 8 Feb, 2021, the same month recorded 524 applications. Currently, it has now amounted to around 6,000 applications in total.

"We feel very encouraging by having such a great number of applications. We hope more productive Hongkongers can come and contribute to Canada through this innovative scheme," said #AlexanderCohen, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada press secretary.

Under the new policy introduced by the Trudeau cabinet in February, any Hong konger who graduated from a Canadian university or university overseas will be able to apply for a three-year working permit in Canada.

"The ties that bind Canada and Hong Kong run deep. The young Hongkongers are now eyeing for international opportunities and we hope they can choose Canada,’ Cohen said.

Source: Stand News #May21

https://bit.ly/346ft9e

MPs calling it a "moral obligation" to extend UK’s settlement route for Hong Kong youngsters

#BNO #PoliceState #HKProtest #Asylum #UKSettlement

Source: Stand News (Photograph), The Independent; #Nov11

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MPs calling it a "moral obligation" to extend UK’s settlement route for Hong Kong youngsters

//An amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill, tabled by Conservative MP Damian Green and supported by Tom Tugendhat and 11 other Tory MPs, would enable Hong Kongers with at least one parent who is a BNO citizen to apply for a UK visa.

It comes after The Independent revealed last month that Young Hong Kongers who fled police brutality are “languishing” in the UK asylum system because they are not able to benefit from the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme due to their age.

If the amendment were accepted, it would enable those born after 1997 to resettle in Britain on the basis of the BNO status of one or both of their parents, rather than having to travel with them.

Many of these young people may well have been involved in the protests and therefore some of them have already suffered from the new security law, and others may in the future

Home Office figures show there was an almost 500 per cent increase in asylum claims from Hong Kong nationals in the year to June 2021, rising to 124 from 21 the previous year. Fourteen of these were unaccompanied minors – the first time on record that the UK has received asylum claims from children from the city state. //

Read full article
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hong-kong-tories-bno-visa-home-office-b1955222.html

#BNO #PoliceState #HKProtest #Asylum #UKSettlement

Source: Stand News (Photograph), The Independent; #Nov11

2 Years After PolyUsiege, 19-year-old HongKongers in Exile: "I Earnestly Want to Return to Hong Kong"

On November 17, 2019, a fierce police-civilian collision broke out at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU). The campus were surrounded by armed police. It is the most tragic fight in the #AntiELAB movement in 2019, carving an indelible wound in countless Hongkongers' hearts.

Two years have passed, a large number of pro-democracy #protesters were subjected to reprisal one after another. As a result, some of them were #exiled #overseas without a returning date, including the 19-year-old Ivan

After escaping from the #PolyUSiege, Ivan, like many young protesters, has been facing the "guilt of survivors" and the unknown future.

"I have been thinking for a long time and finally decided to speak out as I would like to overcomd the fear with everyone," Ivan said.

After s year of exile in the #UK, Ivan chooses to "come out of the closet politically", which is different from when he first arrived.

In the past, he participated in the UK rallies anoymously by donning black. Today, he would not cover his face, rather, he would speak in front of a camera in order to let the world hear their voice.

Ivan said, "I would like to tell the world what we are thinking and what we are doing in a new perspective, as well as the reasons behind, including Why I need to taje it to the street, instead of being a "#HongKongPig" [the one who does not care about politics]?"

So "Hong Kong Pig" went on the street.

Before the movement, Ivan was a "Hong Kong pig", who did not care about the happenings in societyn. But then he chose to protest on the street, entering PolyU campus during the siege, even when he was still a secondary school student.

Ten hours later, he tried to escape from the campus but was arrested.

Although he refused to enter into further bail and was released unconditionally, due to the further reprisal by the Hong Kong Police Force, Ivan had been living in fear before leaving HK.

He then left for the UK with his HKSAR Passport and a single flight ticket on November 5, 2020, going on an exile on his own. At the time of leaving, his parents were also kept in the dark.

He avoids mentioning his family and denies recalling the experiences in the protests, but emphasising "not to get the light spot".

Struggling at the edge of the political #asylum after the exile

Not long after Ivan's departure, the police went to his home to arrest him, accusing him of "perverting the course of public justice".

Just a line to the imprisonment, he becomes a #fugitive at the age of19, struggling to survive alone in a new country.

Source: RFA #Nov17
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/htm/hk-polyu-11172021060537.html

Continue Part 2