President Biden has extended the special stay for political refugees from Hong Kong living in the United States by two years. According to the memo issued on Thursday, they can stay for at least two years even if their visas expire.
The White House order prevents their deportation to China.
The previous program, launched two years ago, would have ended on February 5.
Under the renewed program, Hong Kong residents
They can obtain a work permit, so they can live and work legally in the United States,
while under temporary humanitarian protection. Hong Kong residents living in the United States, such as students, tourists or employees on work visas, are eligible to participate even if their visas have expired.
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This measure affects 4,000 political refugees from Hong Kong.
That’s from Beijing Suppressed protests in Hong Kong Then he fled to the United States.
Since then, lawsuits have continued, arrests have been regular, and the persecution of political activists in Hong Kong has not abated in the past year and a half, said Samuel Chu, head of the Campaign for Hong Kong, which has put pressure on the Hong Kong advocacy group. government to extend.
Hong Kong, a former British colony and global business center, returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Beijing then guaranteed political independence and civil liberties to the city for 50 years. But in recent years, Chinese influence has grown, leading to a series of protests.
2019 Twitter post According to Joe Biden, he sympathized with the protesters even then.
Now, in extending the program, President Biden, of the 2020 National Security Law imposed on Hong Kong Referred to, which gave Beijing more power than before to regulate dissenting opinions in the city, this undermines human rights.
