Proposal to grant Hongkongers political asylum in US left out of defence bill
- The proposed legislation would have given Hongkongers fleeing the city’s national security law the right to seek refuge in the US
- Congressional aides said there may yet be another attempt to pass the proposal into law this year, though it is unclear if it would ultimately succeed
A bipartisan proposal to grant Hongkongers political asylum in the US was left out of a national defence bill that cleared the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, a setback but not necessarily a final defeat for the plan’s supporters.
“Offering prospective refuge to those who have contributed the most to Hong Kong’s success would signal to the Chinese Communist Party that repression in Hong Kong would result in losing its immense wealth and talent to the United States,” the legislative text says.
It was one of many proposals targeting China considered for this year’s defence bill.
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