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| The government plans to deport no less than 1,200 'bogus refugees' each year (File) |
The Hong Kong government has unveiled plans to speed up further the screening and removal of “bogus refugees” or those who seek asylum in Hong Kong using fake or baseless grounds.
The disclosure was made today in the Legislative Council by the Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung, in response to questions raised by legislator Dr Johnny Ng in relation to serious crimes committed by the so-called bogus refugees.
Tang said the government will continue to spare no effort and will adopt a multi-pronged strategy in handling issues relating to non-refoulement claims, including the removal of no less than 1,200 unsubstantiated claimants each year.
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| TAWAG NA! |
The other measures being planned according to him, include:
1) Stepping up the interception at source of potential abusers through profile analysis and cooperation with mainland authorities. This will be further enhanced with the introduction of the Advance Passenger Information System due to be rolled out in phases starting in the third quarter of this year;
2) Maintaining Immigration’s high efficiency in screening NRCs;
3) Streamlining the processing time of cases before the Torture Claims Appeal Board, from an average of seven months in the past to around four months;
4) Further uphold discipline and order at detention facilities in line with various legislative amendments that have been implemented starting from November last year; and
5) Strengthening enforcement actions against illegal employments, with a target to carry out no less than 12,000 operations on the targeted establishments every year, in order to lower the economic incentives of the claimants.
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| PINDUTIN DITO! |
Ng’s main line of questioning was
about the recent spate of gang fights and robberies in busy districts which he said are
believed to have been committed by non-ethnic Chinese NRCs. He wanted to know
what actions were being taken by the government to combat crimes and triad
activities committed by the “bogus refugees.”
In addition, he wanted to know if the government plans to further shorten the length of stay of NRCs in Hong Kong through such means as enhancing the efficiency in processing their appeal cases, and strengthening communication with source countries to speed up the verification of nationality and identity of the bogus refugees.
Tang cited police statistics showing that in the first quarter of the year, a total of 151 non-ethnic Chinese NRCs were arrested for criminal offences, representing a four percent drop from the same period last year.
The crimes committed were mostly thefts and serious drug offences, with only five involving triad-related cases, or only three percent of the total.
Nevertheless, the government has taken steps to detain claimants who pose higher security risks to the community in accordance with the law. Since the Nei Kwu Correctional Institution was added as a place of detention starting in 2023, the total number of detainees has risen by 33 per cent to 900.
Also as a result of the introduction of the updated removal policy on December 7, 2022, a number of unsubstantiated claimants have been removed from Hong Kong upon the dismissal of their judicial reviews or relevant leave applications pertaining to their non-refoulement applications.
Up until March 2024, a total of 2,401 claimants have been removed from Hong Kong, including 249 under the updated policy. The number in 2023 has significantly increased by 63 per cent compared to 2022.
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