John is a social worker in Melbourne and has slowly accepted that he won’t see his family in the near future.
COVID-19 border closures mean they won’t be able to visit him in Australia, and with Hong Kong’s national security law, he says returning home is too risky.
The 26-year-old fears being prosecuted by the new law, enacted by China last June.
It effectively prohibits "treason, secession, sedition (and) subversion" against the Chinese government. China has jurisdiction over "serious" legal cases and its security agencies will also be able to operate publicly in Hong Kong for the first time, unbound by local laws.
in March that Hong Kong had made its 100th arrest under the national security law. Many who were arrested had been outspoken against China’s influence and participated in the pro-democracy movement.
In January, after Hong Kong police arrested more than 50 pro-democracy activists, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne issued a statement criticising the law for “curtailing the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong".
In April, 13 people from Hong Kong in Australia made an application for an onshore protection visa, according to statistics released by the.
Data obtained by in March showed that 560 Hong Kong passport holders had applied for protection in Australia since 2010, with 270 individuals lodging their applications since pro-democracy protests erupted in June 2019.
John, who has been an activist in Hong Kong and in Australia after arriving in 2017, says his friends have been arrested and one has been charged under the national security law.
“He is now out on bail,” he said.
As an organiser of pro-democracy protests in Australia, John believes he could be at risk of being prosecuted if he returns home.
Adjusting to the reality of no return home
When John first moved to Australia to study social work, he didn’t have concrete plans to live long-term in Australia.
“But I don’t think I will go back anytime soon.”
He says adjusting to the distance from his family and friends has been difficult.
“The most important people in my life, they are all in Hong Kong and I can’t go back. It’s not great.”
Fellow activist, Jacob, says he did not initially hide his identity when protests began in 2019. He says this has now risked him being identified as an organiser of protests in Australia by Hong Kong or Chinese authorities.
“At the beginning, no one was scared of suppression... So we didn't worry about wearing masks,” he said.
Jacob, 23, came to Australia in 2016 to study psychology. Like John, he didn’t expect that he wouldn’t be able to return home without fear of being arrested.
“It's really scary. We don’t know if they will be able to identify us, or whether the Hong Kong government will be able to retrieve this information, or maybe find out this information from our personal devices.
“So, that's a threat and a risk to us.”
‘Complex or serious’
Professor Jocelyn Chey, a visiting professor at the University of Sydney and former Australian Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau, said that there may not be a significant risk of arrest for simple protesting in Australia.
“It is not illegal to protest in Hong Kong. I don't think that students who have participated in protests, either here in Australia or in Hong Kong or elsewhere, need to worry about that,” she said.
Professor Chey explains that the national security law says China has jurisdiction over “complex or serious” cases.
“If they feel that their protests were complex or serious, then that might be a different matter.”
An example of “complex or serious,” Professor Chey says, is a Hong Kong politician who unfurled a banner in the Legislative Council saying Hong Kong is not China. Thats politican was arrested.
Professor Chey acknowledges that free speech is impacted by the national security law, which is of great concern to Jacob and John.
“I think it's a great pity that Beijing felt that they had no alternative but to impose [the national security law],” she said.
Jacob said he believes he does not trust the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to fairly apply the terms “serious” and “complex" and he is still at risk.
“They are applying the law how they like,” he said.
“Even displaying the flag is considered even the slightest opposition could put us in trouble and we have seen that with politicians.
“They could target any dissidents of China with the national security law and other laws, like unlawful assembly.”
Graduate visa extension
Jacob and John, both former students and now graduates, have taken advantage of the Australian government’s offer to extend Hong Kong students on graduate visas by five years. The government intended this measure to help Hong Kong passport holders remain in Australia, with pathways to permanent residency. The Department of Home Affairs recorded that for a temporary graduate visa between July and the end of December 2020.
Claudia, 24, first arrived in Australia in 2014 and always intended to return to Hong Kong to establish a career in accounting.
Like John and Jacob, she says her participation in the pro-democracy movement means she can’t return home without the risk of arrest.
“My parents are getting older and expect me to go back home and spend more time with them," she said.
“If it wasn’t for the COVID situation, they could visit me.”
While Claudia is grateful to stay in relative safety in Australia, there remains uncertainty over the pathway to permanent residency in Australia.
In February this year, Scott Morrison confirmed temporary visa holders from Hong Kong will need to go through existing permanent residency pathways when their five-year extensions expire.
As a social worker, Jacob is confident he may meet the eligibility for permanent residency.
However, Claudia and John, who have occupations that are not on the skilled migration list, are concerned that they may not meet the criteria for permanent residency.
“It's really uncertain whether or not we can stay in Australia. It’s giving a lot of stress,” Jacob said.
Jacob says he never predicted he would be in this situation and is still reconciling that he may not see his family for a significant time.
“We have no choice but to go to other places as refugees.”
Names in this article have been changed to protect anonymity
Contact the author: emily.smith@sbs.com.au
