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WASHINGTON: The House of Representatives voted on Monday (December 7) to welcome Hong Kong residents to temporarily live in the United States, promising to be a beacon of rights as China cracks down on the territory.
The House decided by consensus to issue the so-called Temporary Protected Status for five years to Hong Kong residents, which means that people from the financial center will have the right to work in the United States and will not be subject to deportation.
The initiative has yet to be approved by the Senate, but it has cross-party support, unlike an earlier offer by Democrats to extend status to Venezuelans that was effectively blocked by President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat who sponsored the Hong Kong bill, said the decision to “open our doors with confidence in ourselves” was more powerful than going to “impose some sanctions” on Chinese officials, such as what did the State Department again on Monday.
“The best way to win against a dictatorship is to face the strength of our system against the weakness of theirs, to maintain the evident contrast between our free, open and self-confident democracy against the weakness of the oppressive, closed and fearful system that the communist party has imposed on the Chinese people, even now in Hong Kong, “Malinwowski said in the House.
“Actually, it is much more than a humanitarian gesture, it is one of the best ways to dissuade China from crushing Hong Kong,” he added.
China imposed a tough new security law in June criminalizing dissent in Hong Kong. Since then, authorities have arrested and jailed young activists who expressed their views and disqualified pro-democracy lawmakers in the city legislature.
In recent months, Britain’s former colonial power has provided a path for Hong Kong residents to become citizens and Canada has made immigration easier.
If approved by the Senate, Hong Kong would be the only rich place to enjoy Temporary Protected Status, which has been issued by Congress or the White House to protect hundreds of thousands of people from war-torn nations like Somalia, Syria. and Yemen.
The Trump administration has moved to end the status of people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal and Sudan, leading to legal challenges and accusations that the outgoing president cares more about keeping non-immigrants out. targets to make sure they don’t get in the way of harm.
