London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

National security law: former diplomats press Congress to help Hongkongers gain asylum in the US

Letter signatories include nine former US consuls general to Hong Kong and another dozen ex-State Department officials. They call on Congress to ‘help the people of Hong Kong who will now be at greater risk of imprisonment and persecution’

A group of retired American diplomats experienced in navigating the US-China relationship urged Congress on Wednesday to grant Hongkongers seeking political asylum a safe haven in the US.

The letter, signed by nine former US consuls general to Hong Kong – including Kurt Tong and Clifford Hart Jnr, the two most recent US envoys to Hong Kong – and another dozen top former State Department officials, was the latest sign of the furor in Washington over Beijing’s controversial national security law for Hong Kong that went into effect this month.

The law criminalises a wide range of free-speech behaviour under four categories of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion, and allows Beijing to extradite suspects to the mainland in certain cases. The law is also extraterritorial, covering alleged crimes committed outside the city.

“Beijing’s latest move to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong, even as it circumvented the city’s elected legislature, has undermined the rights of the people of Hong Kong and signalled a fundamental breaking of China’s promises,” the letter said.

“We support efforts in Congress to help the people of Hong Kong who will now be at greater risk of imprisonment and persecution under the new national security law,” it added.

“The situation in Hong Kong is urgent and requires a strong US response rooted firmly in our values and long history of providing safe harbour to those fleeing tyranny.”

Michael Fuchs, a former deputy assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs who organised the letter, said that both parties in Congress should want to act in support of Hongkongers wishing to leave the city.

“The absolute minimum that the US should be doing for the people of Hong Kong right now is opening our doors to those who wish to flee an increasingly repressive situation,” he said.

“This should be one issue on which everyone can agree.”

Fear and uncertainty have roiled the city ever since the security law went into effect on July 1. One prominent pro-democracy leader, Nathan Law, already fled Hong Kong and said this week that he had moved to London. The Demosisto Party, the political party that he co-founded, disbanded after Beijing implemented the law.

On Wednesday, The New York Times announced it would be relocating some of its news operation in the city to Seoul, South Korea. In a memo to staff it said the law “has created a lot of uncertainty about what the new rules will mean to our operation and our journalism … We feel it is prudent to make contingency plans”.

Already this week, the strained US-China relationship has been frayed further amid a wave of Chinese sanctions against US politicians; the Trump administration’s declaration that it would not recognise Chinese control over much of the South China Sea; and State Department warnings of increased “arbitrary detentions” against US citizens in China.

On Tuesday, President Trump signed a new law that would allow the administration to punish Chinese officials who violate Hongkongers’ rights. He also signed an executive order that ends Hong Kong’s preferential trading status, arguing that the security law makes the city no different from any other Chinese city.

The executive order included language that the president would “reallocate admissions within the refugee ceiling” for residents of Hong Kong, “based on humanitarian concerns, to the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law.”

“Their freedom has been taken away,” Trump said on Tuesday of Hongkongers. “Their rights have been taken away and with it goes Hong Kong, in my opinion, because it will no longer be able to compete with free markets.” He added that he thought “a lot of people will be leaving Hong Kong”.

Even so, it’s unclear whether a White House that has made a signature of its resistance to immigrants and asylum seekers would make an exception for people fleeing Hong Kong.

“I can't think of any action the Trump administration has taken to make it easier for any group to enter the United States,” said Sam Wang, a Princeton University professor and head of the Princeton Election Consortium.

“You might want to find out if that is something that Joe Biden would do as president,” he added, referring to Trump’s presumptive Democratic rival in the presidential election in November.

Other countries have already begun making moves to allow Hong Kong refugees.

Britain said it would allow holders of British National (Overseas) passports – a travel status created for people born before the former colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 – and their dependents to move there with a path to full British citizenship. About 350,000 people have those passports now, and another 2.6 million are eligible to apply for them.

Australia also said it would allow people with Hong Kong passports and currently in the country to stay. Taiwan announced last month that it would offer humanitarian support, including living allowances, to Hongkongers who seek refuge there.

And the EU’s top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, said this week that the bloc had been “looking at visa possibilities for Hongkongers”.

The issue of granting Hongkongers refugee status has already gained bipartisan support in Congress, despite the bitter debate over immigration and refugees that has been a near-constant theme of the Trump era.

On June 30, as the new security law was poised to take effect, Representative Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat, and Representative John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, each introduced separate bills to let in new Hong Kong refugees.

Both bills are expected to be combined and introduced as an amendment to the annual Defence Department budget bill. If the House votes to include it, its chances of becoming law would be even higher.

Curtis, whose bill would make Hongkongers seeking asylum in the US “Priority 2 refugees of special humanitarian concern”, called bipartisan support for the issue “strong”.

“The protests in Hong Kong inspired all Americans, Republican and Democrats,” he said.

“This bill and the strong bipartisan coalition in support of this bill shows Hongkongers that we hear them, we value them, we believe in them, and we offer them safe harbour in the US.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×