Biden to offer temporary 'safe haven' to Hong Kong residents in US

[WASHINGTON] The United States on Thursday plans to offer a temporary "safe haven" to thousands of Hong Kong residents, a senior administration official said, allowing them to extend their stay in the country in response to Beijing's crackdown on democracy in the Chinese territory.

President Joe Biden is expected to sign a memorandum directing the State and Homeland Security departments to grant Hong Kong residents in the United States an 18-month "deferral of removal", the official said.

The vast majority of Hong Kong residents in the United States are expected to be eligible, but there will be some legal conditions, the source said, calling it a "temporary safe haven".

"The PRC continues to wield the national security law to deny basic rights and freedoms, to assault Hong Kong's autonomy, to undermine the remaining democratic processes in Hong Kong," the source said on condition of anonymity, using the official acronym for China.

"We will continue to take steps to support the people of Hong Kong given this ongoing repression," the official said.

The measure is the latest in a series of actions Mr Biden has taken to address what his White House says is the erosion of rule of law in the former British colony, which returned to Beijing's control in 1997.

REUTERS