The Australian government says it will offer around 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders currently living in Australia a chance to apply for permanent residence once their current visas expire.
Journalists take picture and video over the water-filled barriers after an opening ceremony for China's new Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. China's new national security office in Hong Kong got off to an early start on Wednesday with an official opening amidst heavy police presence.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government believes China’s imposition of a new tough national security law on the semi-autonomous territory means pro-democracy supporters may face political persecution. “So it’s not automatic. But it’s certainly an easier pathway to permanent residency and of course once you’re a permanent resident, there’s then a pathway to citizenship there,” he said. “If people are genuinely persecuted and they can prove that case, then they can apply for one of our humanitarian visas in any case.”
The move comes after China bypassed Hong Kong’s Legislative Council to impose the sweeping security legislation without public consultation. Critics view it as a further deterioration of freedoms promised to the former British colony, in response to last year’s massive protests calling for greater democracy and more police accountability.
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