Hong Kong’s legislature is set to discuss a controversial immigration bill, which lawyers, diplomats and right groups fear will give authorities unlimited powers to prevent residents and others from entering or leaving the Chinese-ruled city.
The government has dismissed the concerns as “complete nonsense,” saying the bill which will be debated on Wednesday merely aims to screen undocumented migrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications and does not affect constitutional rights of free movement.
But distrust of the local administration has grown since enormous pro-democracy protests in 2019 and after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law last year that appears to have set Hong Kong on a more authoritarian path.
Reuters Reuters
28 April, 2021, 6:14 am
FILE PHOTO: British National Overseas passports (BNO) and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People s Republic of China passports sit on top of baggage in Hong Kong, China, December 17, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
HONG KONG (Reuters) -An immigration bill on Hong Kong’s legislative agenda for Wednesday would give authorities virtually unlimited powers to prevent residents and others entering or leaving the former British colony, lawyers, diplomats and rights groups say.
The government says the bill merely aims to screen illegal immigrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications, and does not affect movement rights.
Hong Kong legislature to discuss new immigration bill amid exit ban fears
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Legislative Council meeting debating a Beijing-backed electoral reform in Hong Kong, China, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip reuters tickers
This content was published on April 28, 2021 - 03:46
April 28, 2021 - 03:46
By Pak Yiu
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong s legislature is set to discuss a controversial immigration bill, which lawyers, diplomats and right groups fear will give authorities unlimited powers to prevent residents and others from entering or leaving the Chinese-ruled city.
The government has dismissed those fears as complete nonsense, saying the bill merely aims to screen illegal immigrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications and does not affect constitutional rights of free movement.
4 Min Read
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s legislature is set to discuss a controversial immigration bill, which lawyers, diplomats and right groups fear will give authorities unlimited powers to prevent residents and others from entering or leaving the Chinese-ruled city.
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Legislative Council meeting debating a Beijing-backed electoral reform in Hong Kong, China, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
The government has dismissed those fears as “complete nonsense,” saying the bill merely aims to screen illegal immigrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications and does not affect constitutional rights of free movement.