The Australian government has said it will provide approximately 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders who currently live in Australia an opportunity to apply for permanent residence once their existing visas expire.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government believes that China's imposition of a new strict national security law on the semi-autonomous region means that supporters of democracy may face political persecution.
"This means that many Hong Kong passport holders may be looking for other destinations to go to, which is why we have proposed additional visa options for them," Immigration Acting Alan Todge told Australian Broadcasting Corporation Sunday.
He added that in order to obtain permanent residency, applicants still had to pass a "personality test, national security test and the like", and therefore said, "It is not automatic. But it is certainly an easier path to permanent residency, of course once the person is a resident Permanently, there will be a course for citizenship there. "
Morrison announced last week that Australia had suspended the extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended the visas of Hong Kong residents from two to five years.
The move came after China bypassed the Hong Kong Legislative Council to impose comprehensive security legislation without consulting the public.
Critics see this as a further deterioration of the freedoms promised to the former British colony, in response to the massive protests that took place last year that called for more democracy and accountability of the police.
The National Security Law prohibits what Beijing regards as separatist, subversive, terrorist or foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs.
By law, the police now have broad powers to conduct searches without warrants and impose their orders on Internet service providers and platforms to remove messages that are in violation of legislation.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it reserves the right to "take further measures" in response to Canberra's actions.
"Australia will bear the full results," spokesman Zhao Legian told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
"Permanent residence" for ten thousand Hong Kong residents in Australia
2020-07-12T13:53:56.063Z
The Australian government has said it will provide approximately 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders who currently live in Australia an opportunity to apply for permanent residence once their existing visas expire. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government believes that China has imposed strict law c
Source: emara