Hong Kong: Safe Haven visa doesn’t go far enough to protect threatened Hong Kongers

Desperate Hong Kongers not covered by the federal government’s temporary visa protection are pleading for it to be extended.

Chatswood-based immigration lawyer Stanley Chen says many Hongkongers who left the country as pro-democracy demonstrations turned violent are not covered by visa extensions.

Desperate Hongkongers not covered by the federal government’s temporary visa protection are pleading for it to be extended, saying they face almost certain death if they are forced to return to their homeland.

Hong Kong national and former student Dylan joined protests in Australia after Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam tried to introduce an extradition bill that would allow locals to be sent to mainland China to face trial.

Like many others, however, he is not covered by the safe haven visas, and instead is nervously awaiting judgment on his protection visa application.

Two of his close friends, both frontline protesters in Hong Kong, went missing in October last year and haven’t been heard from since.

He said a similar fate awaited him if he was forced to return. “The Australian government should rate this situation higher than Tiananmen Square,” he said.

“This is the smart version of Tiananmen Square. They know they can’t kill people publicly, but that’s all right because they’ll just kill them secretly.

“Many more people will die as a result.

“We’re really grateful for the Australian government, but we’re hoping to see more information or improvements over the next year to see if there’s some extra clauses to help Hong Kong people.”

His comments referenced the month-long Chinese democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which was crushed by the Chinese Communist Party, with the death toll estimated to be in the several thousands.

Stanley Chen, a Chatswood-based lawyer on Sydney’s north shore, represents more than 50 applicants who are not covered under Scott Morrison’s extension of temporary visas for students or skilled workers.

He said many Hongkongers left the country as pro-democracy demonstrations turned violent, but they would not be protected under the visa extensions.

“I respect the decision from the Prime Minister (but) it is not the good enough decision for many Hong Kong people who are desperate and have escaped from Hong Kong,” Mr Chen said.

“The limitation of this ‘safe haven’ visa is very obvious: many Hongkongers are in Australia for several years who may not hold student or working visas — they are also scared to return to Hong Kong”.

On Thursday, Mr Morrison announced that five-year visa extensions would be made available to nearly 10,000 students and skilled workers in Australia. However, Mr Chen called for him to offer humanitarian protection for many Hongkongers now threatened by the recently legislated nat­ional security laws.

As many of his Hong Kong clients did qualify, Mr Chen has been helping them apply for protection visas, which he said was the “right choice” because of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the former British colony.

He said hundreds of protesters had gone missing, and were believed to have been murdered, in the past year.

University of Melbourne professorial fellow Susan Kneebone said the announcement was an extension of the 2017 Safe Haven Enterprise Visa pathway, which required applicants to study or work in a regional centre for five years before applying for permanent residency.

“It’s a very cautious response. It is not a generous response. It is very targeted. It is clearly targeted at capturing a ready-made market already here,” she said

People like Dylan who have applied for protection visas will need to prove that their lives would be in danger if they were to return to Hong Kong, Professor Kneebone said.