Canada woos Hong Kong students amid China crackdown
- Immigration minister cites Beijing’s recent move to disqualify elected legislators in city as he unveils new rules for easier path to permanent residency
- Recent university graduates from Hong Kong can apply to work in Canada, while process to bring family members over will be accelerated
Canada said on Thursday it would make it easier for Hong Kong youth to study and work there in response to new security rules imposed by China on the former British colony, a move likely to heighten already strained relations with Beijing.
“Today’s announcement is set against the backdrop of a number of developments which have been gravely concerning to Canada,” Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told Reuters, citing this week’s move by China to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong as being the latest such development.
Any Hong Kong resident who has graduated from university in the past three years can apply to work for up to three years in Canada, and will be offered a way to transition more easily to permanent residency, the minister said.
Canada will also accelerate the processes for “their spouses, their partners and their children to come and build the next chapter in their life” in Canada, Mendicino said.
Hong Kong’s autonomy was guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” agreement enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Britain on Thursday said China had broken this treaty by using the new security law to disqualify elected legislators this week.
Violations of the new security law, or of any laws that Canada does not itself have on its books, will be disregarded when the country evaluates requests for asylum, permanent residency or other permits, Mendicino said.