The 'Right to Work' of Refugees in Hong Kong: MA v Director of Immigration

Ramsden, Michael; Marsh, Luke

doi:10.1093/ijrl/eet036

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Public sentiment of Vietnamese refugees eventually transitioned into legislation, where, according to Michael Ramsden, modern HK refugees are legally "regarded as over-stayers whose presence is merely tolerated until their resettlement," with a lack of effort to integrate them into current society. Current screening and refugee claim mechanisms have long been known for their inefficiency, with "several thousand [asylum seekers]" still awaiting a decision on their refugee status determination [6]. Despite it being known that most persecution cases are likely to have "inevitable similarity" due to the commonality in situations in which refugees flee, a common understanding locally and legislatively is that delays in claim processing have still encouraged individuals "with no genuine claim" to take advantage of Hong Kong for their own "economic advantages" [6].…”

Section: The Influence Between Public Sentiment and Legislative Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Current screening and refugee claim mechanisms have long been known for their inefficiency, with "several thousand [asylum seekers]" still awaiting a decision on their refugee status determination [6]. Despite it being known that most persecution cases are likely to have "inevitable similarity" due to the commonality in situations in which refugees flee, a common understanding locally and legislatively is that delays in claim processing have still encouraged individuals "with no genuine claim" to take advantage of Hong Kong for their own "economic advantages" [6].…”

Section: The Influence Between Public Sentiment and Legislative Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Historical and Modern Catalysts of the HK Refugee Dilemma

Zhang

2023

CHR

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To explain the causes of local anti-refugee sentiment propagated throughout local Hong Kong, this article delves into historical deadlocks notably the cultural revolution and influx of Vietnamese boat people that led the citys attitudes to transition from relatively lax policies into strict regulations and negative media portrayal still present today. Yet, the present-day Hong Kong protests are brought into context to explain the slight generational gap in refugee sentiment. Finally, the Hong Kong refugee dilemma is brought into context compared with similar deadlocks in Norway and Germany to suggest an optimal mode of action moving forward.

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Section: The Influence Between Public Sentiment and Legislative Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Influence Between Public Sentiment and Legislative Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical and Modern Catalysts of the HK Refugee Dilemma

Zhang

2023

CHR

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“…Per month, this comprises HK$1500 housing allowance (about US$200), HK$1200 worth of food coupons (US$155), HK$300 for electricity and water bills (US$39), and up to HK$300 for transportation (US$39), provided by the International Social Service, an NGO contracted by the Social Welfare Department since 2006. In one of the most expensive cities in the world, this level of assistance has been calculated to be more than 30% below what is necessary to lift a person out of poverty (Ramsden and Marsh, 2013). As asylum-seekers are also prohibited from working while their claim is being assessed, this assistance can be said to have failed its objective to prevent destitution.…”

Section: Government Assistance and Creating The Borderless Campmentioning

confidence: 99%

From subsistence to resistance: Asylum-seekers and the other ‘Occupy’ in Hong Kong

Vecchio

Ham

2017

Critical Social Policy

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In 2014, the Refugee Union – the only asylum-seeker-led organisation in Hong Kong – organised an eight-month-long protest against assistance policies and practices which they argued dehumanised and jeopardised their dignity and survival. Central to this public protest, termed ‘Refugee Occupy’, was the transformation of a traditional mechanism for asylum-seeker containment – the refugee camp – into a vehicle for asylum-seeker voice, participation and resistance. In this article, we discuss the asylum-seeker assistance policies and practices over the last decade that have resulted in a borderless refugee camp in Hong Kong. We explore the asylum-seekers’ use of the camp concept and its spatial and political transformation into an instrument for asylum-seeker resistance and political engagement. We conclude by situating the Refugee Union’s formation alongside other migrant-led social movements in Hong Kong and globally.

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“…This research study is vital since by now because existing studies fail to review refugee policies in Hong Kong comprehensively. It is observed that most of the existing refugee studies in Hong Kong are concentrated on the legal perspective (Jones, 2009; Lau, 2017; Loper, 2010; Ramsden, 2013; Ramsden and Marsh, 2013, 2014), the lived experiences of refugees (Lau and Gheorghiu, 2018; Mathews et al , 2014; Shum, 2019; Vecchio, 2016), the roles of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and refugee community organizations (Lau, 2019; Vecchlo and Beatson, 2014) and the health caring perspective (Wong et al , 2016). Although there is a small body of studies examine the relationship between the formation of refugee policies and media frames (Ng et al , 2019) and the effectiveness of related policies (Ng, 2019), the present study evaluates the securitization process of refugees in terms of a longer time frame.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The securitization of refugees in Hong Kong: government, members of the legislative council and Chinese newspapers (2005 to June 2019)

Choy

2020

STICS

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Purpose This paper explores how the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG) securitizes internal security, cultural identity and welfare system through refugee policy instruments. It also aims to explore the roles of members of the Legislative Council (Legco) and Chinese newspapers in the securitization process. Design/methodology/approach The author analyzed 6 landmark verdicts, 342 related documents of the Legco, 2,386 news coverages and 408 editorials/ column articles from 6 selected Chinese newspapers from 2005 to mid-2019. While documents of the Legco were collected from the Legco archives, news reports, editorials and column articles were gathered on Wisenews with the keywords, namely, refugees, asylum seekers, torture claims and non-refoulement claims. Findings The author argues that the advanced comprehensive security approach helps to comprehend the securitization process in Hong Kong. The HKSARG, Legco members of the pro-government camp and pro-government Chinese newspapers perform as securitizing actors who regard refugees as an existential threat to the referent objects, i.e. internal security, cultural identity and welfare system. Research limitations/implications There are two significant limitations, namely, the coverage of newspapers and the absence of poll data. This paper merely selected six Chinese newspapers, which do not cover English newspapers and some other Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong. It may neglect some important data. Additionally, owing to the absence of longitudinal poll data, the author chose not to examine the related materials. Originality/value This paper intends to be the first study to provide a longitudinal examination of the transformations of current refugee policies in Hong Kong.

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The 'Right to Work' of Refugees in Hong Kong: MA v Director of Immigration

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Historical and Modern Catalysts of the HK Refugee Dilemma

Historical and Modern Catalysts of the HK Refugee Dilemma

From subsistence to resistance: Asylum-seekers and the other ‘Occupy’ in Hong Kong

The securitization of refugees in Hong Kong: government, members of the legislative council and Chinese newspapers (2005 to June 2019)

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