US Senator Ted Cruz dismisses last-minute attempt by Senators to help Hong Kong

Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s objection on December 18 dismissed the last-minute attempt by the American lawmakers to pass the law providing special refugee status to the Hong Kongers. The Texas Senator took the Senate floor to block the approval of the legislation citing the threat of spying from China. Cruz said that the law is an attempt by Democrats “to advance their long-standing goals on changing immigration laws” and claimed that Beijing would exploit the relaxed immigration standards to send spies to the United States.

Under the Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act which is reportedly subjected background security checks, the residents of the former British colony would be granted temporary protected status (TPS) similar to other ten countries such as Syria, El Salvador and South Sudan. With this special refugee status by the US, the foreigners already living in the nation would be allowed to stay even past the expiry date of the current visa. 

Read - Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai Denied Bail As Pompeo Tweets Support

Read - Hong Kong Secures 15 Million Vaccine Doses, Says Chief Executive Carrie Lam

Senator weigh helping Hong Kong

While Cruz remained largely unconvinced and did not support the legislation, other Senators were seen uniting to help the city that is part of China under a special ‘One Country, Two Systems’ arrangement. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said that helping the Hong Kongers is not only the “morally right thing to do” but also signs with United States national security interests. Rubio is also a co-author of the Hong Kong Safe Harbour Act, which is a bipartisan bill put together along with Democratic Senator Robert Menendez to provide special refugee status to the Hong Kongers who have suffered persecution.

"I deeply believe that Hong Kong is on the front lines of a much larger struggle. It is the broader struggle between authoritarianism and democracy, Rubio said.

Read - Senators Weigh Help For Hong Kong Amid Crackdown

Read - Pompeo Calls For Jimmy Lai's Release, Says 'Hong Kong Becoming China-run Communist City'

Image: AP