Why Hong Kong should send back ‘asylum’ seekers from India

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of India can immediately see that Indians arriving in Hong Kong to seek “political asylum” are engaged in a scam. It is true that large numbers live in poverty but as far as political and personal freedoms go, Indians are not deprived in the fair sense of the word.

In fact, many Indians and foreigners argue that India’s poverty is the result of granting civil liberties and freedoms too early in its economic development history, freedoms which have become available only recently in much richer East Asian countries such as South Korea and Taiwan.

Hong Kong’s Indian community anger grows over possible visa curbs

In a large country of more than a billion people, there are bound to be individuals and groups who feel they are not treated fairly. This is true of even the US, and there are already reports that a small number of Americans are preparing to migrate to Canada should Donald Trump be elected president in November. This does not mean that an American landing in Hong Kong next year seeking “political asylum” should be provided refuge.

The asylum law is there to protect against political, religious or other forms of persecution for their beliefs, not for fleeing poverty. Under these criteria, there is no case for Hong Kong to entertain asylum requests from Indians.

Why are Indians being targeted in Hong Kong’s crackdown on illegal immigration?

India’s poverty is epic. The nation has more poor people than the entire population of the US. What is even worse is that the social indicators of poverty, such as nutrition, children’s height and education, are even worse than in poorer countries in sub-Saharan Africa. There are historical and cultural reasons for this shameful state of affairs, which mercifully is changing, albeit slowly. Hundreds of millions will remain poor in India for decades to come.