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Joe Biden extends special status for Hongkongers in US for 2 more years

Only Hongkongers present in US when January 15 memorandum released are eligible under programme

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US President Joe Biden is set to leave office on January 20. Photo: Reuters.

US President Joe Biden has given a two-year extension to a programme that allows Hongkongers in the country to stay beyond the expiry of their visas, prompting Beijing to accuse Washington of providing “a safe haven for anti-China forces”.

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“The United States supports the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Hong Kong,” Biden, who is set to leave office on January 20, said early on Thursday Hong Kong time.

“I am, therefore, directing an extension and expansion of the deferral of removal of certain Hong Kong residents, regardless of country of birth, who are present in the United States.”

The extension of the Deferred Enforced Departure programme now allows certain Hongkongers to continue living and working in the US until February 5, 2027.

Biden first introduced the programme in August 2021 in response to the national security law Beijing imposed on the city the year before. The US extended the measure by two years in 2023.

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But those who return to Hong Kong or mainland China after the release of the most recent memorandum are ineligible for the programme, with the extension only applying to those who were present in the US when the update was released on January 15.

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