Advertisement
More Hongkongers seeking asylum overseas, with Australia, Canada their main destinations
- Many who fled to other countries believed linked to last year’s anti-government protests
- Scholars split on whether the applicants are criminals fearing jail or simply residents who have lost hope
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
More Hongkongers are seeking asylum abroad this year following months of social unrest and the imposition of a controversial national security law, with Australia and Canada emerging as the top destinations for those fleeing the city.
Advertisement
As of September, 136 asylum seekers had headed to Australia, up from about 120 last year, and about 50 in 2018. Canada, meanwhile, had seen 25 Hongkongers seeking refugee status as of June, up from nine last year, and two in 2018.
There were also small numbers of applications for asylum in Britain, Germany and New Zealand, with each locale similarly registering an upwards trend.
A total of 181 Hongkongers have applied for asylum in the five countries this year, checks by the Post found, up from 141 last year, and 62 in 2018.
Advertisement
Many of those fleeing abroad are believed to be linked to last year’s anti-government protests, which began in opposition to a deeply unpopular bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but soon expanded into a broader, increasingly violent movement calling for greater police accountability and universal suffrage.
At least five activists who had called for foreign sanctions against the Chinese authorities or advocated independence for Hong Kong have fled the city, either just before or just after Beijing imposed the new security law on June 30 seen as criminalising such actions.
Advertisement