International Lifeboat campaign
Since our establishment, we have partnered with and called on democratic partners who have pledged their support for Hong Kong and raised concern over its national security laws to offer an insurance policy to Hong Kongers by creating lifeboat schemes, including:
Reform work and study visa programmes to make it easier for Hong Kongers to work and study abroad as a pathway to citizenship.
Reform asylum policy to make it easier for Hong Kongers in need of a lifeline to claim asylum.
Coordinate with international partners, preferably through an International Contact Group, to ensure that no group of Hong Kongers is unfairly left behind by filling gaps in pre-existing immigration policies.
These options could be achieved by either a national government changing their current immigration regulations or through direct legislation by parliamentarians.
A number of international governments have already stepped up: the British Government has offered a pathway to citizenship for Hong Kongers with British National (Overseas) status; the Government of Canada has developed a young talent scheme and expanded the Open Work Permit and Stream B Pathway for Hong Kongers; the Australian Government has offered a pathway to citizenship for students from Hong Kong; and the US Government has offered Deferred Enforced Departure and Temporary Protected Status to Hong Kongers in the US. But there is more work to do.
Commenting on Hong Kong Watch’s International Lifeboat Campaign, Hong Kong Watch Patron Lord Alton of Liverpool, said:
“Now is the time for the international community to convert statements of support into meaningful action. The natural place to start is ensuring that Hong Kongers have a viable insurance policy in the face of a further crackdown on their rights, including making it easier for Hong Kongers to study and work abroad as a pathway to citizenship. That’s why we need an international lifeboat campaign.”
News on International Lifeboat campaign
