Mike Pompeo says US considering option of welcoming people from Hong Kong

The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on June 1 reportedly said that the country is considering the option of welcoming people from Hong Kong in response to China’s push to impose national security law in the former British colony. While Pompeo gave no details about immigration quotas or visas, Republican leader Mitch McConnell reportedly said that he hoped that Trump administration would soon identify specific ways to ‘impose costs on Beijing’ for curbing freedoms in Hong Kong. 

McConnell thinks that the US should mirror the response of other democracies and open its doors to people from the territory. However, Pompeo reportedly said that the administration is looking at it. Last week, US President Donald Trump had ordered his administration to begin the process of eliminating special US treatment for Hong Kong to punish China for curbing freedoms there. 

READ: Hong Kong Warns US Against Revoking Special Status, Says It Could Backfire

Meanwhile, as Britain said that it was prepared to offer extended visa rights and a pathway to citizenship for almost three million Hong Kong residents, Pompeo said that the US is also considering, however, he also added that the authorities don’t know how it will play out. While speaking to an international media outlet, Pompeo noted the ‘different relationship’ of the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. He said that the US is ‘taking a look at it’ as most of the Hong Kong citizens have a British national passport, plus the UK and the former British colony also have a long history. 

While Trump reportedly issued a proclamation suspending entry of Chinese nationals identified as potential security risks, Pompeo said that if the US welcomes people from Hong Kong, the move would apply only to graduate students and researchers ‘targeted, co-opted and exploited’ by the Chinese government, representing ‘only a small subset’ of such applicants. 

READ: China Warns US Of 'counter-attack' If It Continues To Interfere In Hong Kong

Foreign govt condemns National Security Law

The plans by Beijing have promoted condemnation from foreign governments, investors and Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement as they believe that China is eradicating the freedoms it promised the city under its 1997 handover agreement with Britain. Several countries have raised concerns over the legislation including the US, Britain, the European Union, and so on. However, Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam has urged residents to wait for the details of the proposed legislation saying it would not affect the city’s rights and freedoms.

(Image credit: AP)

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