Germany grants refugee status to 22-year-old Hong Kong protester seeking asylum

Germany has granted a 22-year-old university student from Hong Kong refugee status after she was charged for demonstrating against the city’s extradition law. German officials have not confirmed nor denied the granting of refugee status due to the countries strict privacy laws. As per The Associated Press report, the protester has only identified herself as Elain and paperwork states that she received refugee status on October 14.

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Refugee status granted after nine months

According to reports, Elaine fled Hong Kong back in November last year while she was out of bail, she had been arrested on allegations of rioting and also for not following the city's anti-mask policy that was implemented as anti-governmental protests became violent.

As per reports, it took nine months for her application request to be processed. During her telephonic interview with AP Elaine said, "I’m very grateful to the government for covering my basic needs, including healthcare when I had to be treated for mental health issues. But I wish they could simplify the application process, shorten the waiting time, and let us choose where we could live while we were waiting”.

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A press release by Haven Assistance, a pro-democracy group that assists Hong Kong residents seeking asylum, stated that they welcomed "the German government’s decision to grant asylum to the Hong Kong protester." The group also urge Germany and other European countries to continue to improve their asylum processes and consider enacting a comprehensive lifeboat policy for Hong Kongers. As per reports, The pro-democracy group includes activists Brian Leung, Ray Wong, Simon Cheng and Lam Wing Kee.

Recently, China has warned Canada against granting asylum to Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, adding that it could jeopardize the "health and safety" of Canadians living in the semi-autonomous region. Like the US, Canada also has strained relations with China which first began deteriorating after the arrest of Huawei CFO and Canada’s decision to grant asylum to a Hong Kong couple who participated in pro-democracy protests last year.

(With AP inputs, Image AP)

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