HONG KONG —
Hong Kong passed a new immigration law on
Wednesday that includes powers to stop people entering or leaving the city,
raising fears Chinese mainland-style “exit bans” could be deployed in the
international business hub.
اضافة اعلان
The legislation sailed through a legislature now devoid of
opposition as Beijing seeks to quash dissent and make the semi-autonomous city
more like the authoritarian mainland following huge and often violent democracy
protests.
Activists, lawyers and some business figures have sounded
the alarm over various provisions within the bill, including one that allows
the city’s immigration chief to bar people from boarding planes to and from the
city.
No court order is required and there is no recourse to
appeal.
The city’s influential
Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA)
warned the bill’s wording gave “apparently unfettered power” to the immigration
director.
Speaking after the bill was passed on Wednesday, labor
activists and legal critics said the legislature had ignored concerns about the
law’s broad wording and said they feared exit bans could now be employed in
Hong Kong.
“When they have this power, absolute power, you don’t know
who they will use it on,” barrister Chow Hang-tung, from the pro-democracy Hong
Kong Alliance, told reporters after the bill was passed.
Hong Kong’s government said the immigration bill was needed
to address a backlog of non-refoulement claims and to screen illegal immigrants
before they depart for the city.
“It will only apply to flights heading to Hong Kong,” the
Security Bureau said.
However, the wording of the bill does not limit the power to
arriving flights or immigrants and legal experts say it could also be deployed
against anyone leaving or arriving in Hong Kong.
So-called “exit bans” are often used in mainland China
against activists who challenge authorities. They have also impacted business
figures.
One recent example is Richard O’Halloran, an Irishman who
has been unable to leave Shanghai for two years because of a legal dispute
involving the Chinese owner of a Dublin-based company for which he works.
Authoritarian swing
Under Beijing’s direction, Hong Kong’s government has swung
more authoritarian since 2019’s huge protests.
Faith in official assurances that the city is not becoming
like the mainland has been rattled by the recent crackdown.
Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong
Kong last year, arguing it was needed to return stability and would not impact
freedoms.
But its broad wording and subsequent application has
criminalized much dissent and radically transformed a once politically
pluralistic city.
Many of Hong Kong’s prominent pro-democracy figures have
since been arrested, detained or fled overseas.
The city’s formerly raucous legislature has been cleared of
pro-democracy opponents who resigned en masse late last year after three of
their colleagues were disqualified for their political views.
Since then, the government has fast-tracked a number of laws
with limited scrutiny and dissent in the legislature.
Wednesday’s immigration bill received 39 votes in favor and
two against. It was passed shortly after lawmakers approved a budget in record
time with just one dissenting vote.
Beijing has also unveiled a new plan — dubbed “patriots rule
Hong Kong” — to politically vet anyone standing for office and reduce the
number of directly elected seats in the legislature to a small minority.
Critics of the immigration bill also say it will make it easier
to detain and deport refugees.
Hong Kong only approves around one percent of refugee
claims, one of the lowest rates in the world, and there is a huge backlog.
Refugees are unable to work while their applications are
being processed and often live in miserable conditions.
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