US includes Hongkongers among refugees whose applications will be prioritised
- In its annual proposal on refugee admissions, the state department added Hong Kong to the list of specific groups for the first time
- The move is the latest in a series of US actions following a national security law that threatens pro-democracy activists in the city
The US state department announced the inclusion of Hong Kong for the first time in its annual refugee admissions proposal, a move that follows a series of actions taken by Washington in response to a Chinese national security law that threatens pro-democracy activists in the city.
The announcement on Wednesday said that the state department was prioritising “people who have suffered or fear persecution on the basis of religion; for Iraqis whose assistance to the United States has put them in danger; for refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; and for refugees from Hong Kong, Cuba and Venezuela”.
The move comes as US legislation meant to welcome more Hongkongers facing prosecution moves rapidly through the House of Representatives.
The state department proposed to cap the number of refugees accepted at 15,000, which is down from 18,000 allowed in this year, and added that it anticipated “receiving more than 300,000 new refugees and asylum claims” in the coming year.
The list’s inclusion of asylum seekers from Hong Kong follows the detention in China of 12 Hongkongers, who were sought by Hong Kong police and caught by mainland Chinese authorities at sea while reportedly fleeing to Taiwan.
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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has defended the detention, saying they were fugitives and dismissing characterisations of them as oppressed democracy activists.
