Activists are fleeing Hong Kong, a haven no more
For decades, Hong Kong had been a place of shelter for people escaping war, famine and political oppression in mainland China. But the city has profoundly changed since China imposed a tough new security law this summer.
In recent weeks, Hong Kong activists have been granted asylum in the U.S., Canada and Germany, the latest catalyst for deteriorating relations between China and the West.
U.S. moves: The Trump administration has listed refugees from the city as a priority, even as it reduced the total number of refugees the U.S. will take in annually. At least three bills now before Congress would enact greater protections for people fleeing Hong Kong for the U.S. And the government has moved unusually quickly to grant asylum to at least two protesters who left Hong Kong late last year.
China’s response: Beijing and the Hong Kong government have dismissed the notion that the city’s residents might need shelter from oppression. Hong Kong’s No. 2 leader, Matthew Cheung, complained that Germany’s grant of asylum last week to a university student wanted on a rioting charge would “only send a plainly wrong message to criminals.”
The New York Times