WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Joe Biden yesterday offered temporary “safe haven” to Hong Kong residents in the United States, allowing what could be thousands of people to extend their stay in response to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in the Chinese territory.
Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security to implement a “deferral of removal” for up to 18 months for Hong Kong residents currently in the United States, citing “compelling foreign policy reasons.”
“Over the last year, the PRC has continued its assault on Hong Kong’s autonomy, undermining its remaining democratic processes and institutions, imposing limits on academic freedom, and cracking down on freedom of the press,” Biden said in the memo, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
He said offering safe haven for Hong Kong residents “furthers United States interests in the region. The United States will not waver in our support of people in Hong Kong.”
It is not clear how many people the move would affect, but the vast majority of Hong Kong residents currently in the United States are expected to be eligible, according to a senior administration official.
The White House said the move made clear the United States “will not stand idly by as the PRC breaks its promises to Hong Kong and to the international community.”
Those eligible may also seek employment authorization, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said.
It is the latest in a series of actions Biden has taken to address what his administration says is the erosion of rule of law in the former British colony, which returned to Beijing’s control in 1997.
