Hong Kong: Safe haven visa extensions offers hope, but students remain fearful

Hong Kong students say the federal government’s safe haven visa extension offers a ‘little bit of hope’, but are fearful returning after five years.

Student ‘Liz’, in downtown Hong Kong, has been studying at the ANU in Canberra and, following Scott Morrison’s protection visa announcement, would like to return to Australian.

Hong Kong students say the federal government’s visa extension offers a “little bit of hope” but are concerned for their family’s wellbeing and fearful of returning after five years.

Speaking under an alias from Hong Kong, “Liz”, a third-year student at the Australian National University in Canberra, said she was “absolutely fearful” about the increased role of Beijing’s security services and the deterioration of the country’s democracy.

“I don’t know what will happen: I might be jailed, I might be sent back to China — I have no idea what will happen. They said freedom of speech will still be there, but I strongly doubt it,” she told The Australian.

“I’m all out of options, I’m really stuck here. My only option currently is Australia, because that’s the place I study in, and that’s a place that I feel is safe,” she said.

Unable to support herself fin­ancially after the pandemic hit, Liz returned home to continue studying online.

However, the recently legislated national security laws have made her fearful of criticising Hong Kong’s central government or the Chinese Communist Party.

“I personally suffer from mental health issues — it actually makes it worse because I have to really worry about what I say, because I have to think twice before I post, which is not what I used to do,” she said.

“Whenever I see something that is wrong, I would just post it on Instagram so everybody can see it and be aware of what is happening in Hong Kong.”

Former University of Wollongong student Eddy says the temporary visa extension offers a sense of relief. However, he’s afraid the policy doesn’t go far enough to protect non-students or workers, and is concerned about having to return to Hong Kong once the five-year visa expires.

“I feel relieved. They’ve given us the opportunity to stay here and not go back … It gives us some hope right now,” Eddy told The Australian.

“If I’m the one to go back to Hong Kong, I will be the one to go to the street to demonstrate.

“So I’m scared, you know? I’m scared to get killed.”

Ki, who finished studying at the Wentworth Institute in Sydney’s inner-city Surry Hills two years ago, isn’t eligible for a safe haven extension, and is awaiting a review of her working visa application. However, she said the announcement offered a “little bit of hope”.

Having been accepted into ANU’s masters of law, Liz hopes to return to ANU in January. However, she implored the federal government to consider extending protection visas to family members to ensure her parents were protected.

“I don’t know what they’ll do to my family at all. They might jail my family, just so I follow whatever they want me to do,” she said.

“The thing is, my family will still be in Hong Kong, so if they really do anything to me, they might do something to my family.”

While grateful for the opportunity to stay, Liz said she was worried she would be forced to return once the temporary visa expired, and hoped permanent residency will eventually become available.

“Five years really is not enough. By the end of the five years, I’m sure Hong Kong will change even more,” she said.

“We will lose our freedoms ­little by little; eventually we will be controlled by China completely, in terms of what we think and what we say.”