THE Australian Government is to grant permanent residence to all Chinese students who sought refuge in the country at the time of the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre and in the two weeks after it, honouring a promise made by then prime minister Bob Hawke.
The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Nick Bolkus, said the decision meant 19,500 students who were in Australia by June 20, 1989, and the 9,500 spouses and children who had joined them since would be allowed to stay, subject to health and character checks.
In good news for potential Hong Kong migrants, Mr Bolkus said the Chinese students would be in addition to this year's Australian migrant intake.
The Government will also allow many of those who came after June 20 and have applied for refugee status to stay, but subject to conditions that mean only the youngest and best educated will be granted permanent residence.
There are about 20,000 people in that category, about 12,000 of whom are Chinese nationals, but a spokesman for Mr Bolkus said the criteria to be applied meant only about 8,000 would be allowed to stay. They will be included in the migrant intake target.
The 1,100 people granted refugee status since 1990, many of them Chinese, will also get permanent residence.
Mr Bolkus said the students had been given a clear commitment that none would be sent back to China unless they broke the law, but they had not been able to plan their lives.