Stand With Hong Kong's 300,000 Canadian Citizens

與三十萬居港加國公民同行

New Brunswick Southwest Member of Parliament John Williamson responded to reports that dual-national citizens living in Hong Kong will be forced to choose between Canada and China after an abrupt policy change:

近日有報導指出，擁有雙重國籍的居港加國公民將被逼在加拿大籍和中國籍之間做出選擇。代表紐賓士域省的加拿大國會議員約翰·威廉森（John Williamson）就此事作出回應：

As a longtime friend of Hong Kong, I believe it is vital that we defend the rights and freedoms of the territory’s citizens. Free people and democratic governments must not be made to kowtow to Beijing.

作為香港人的老朋友，我相信捍衛港人的權利和自由至關重要。擁有自由的市民和任何民主政府都不應被逼向北京卑躬屈膝。

I lived in Hong Kong during the territory’s handover from Britain to the People’s Republic of China on July 1, 1997, and I’ve returned many times. I have the fondest memories of the territory and the deepest affection for the people of Hong Kong.

我曾經在香港居住，見證了1997年7月1日英國將香港主權移交中國。之後，我亦曾多次訪港。這座城市帶給我最美好的回憶，我對居住在這裡的香港人亦有著最深厚的感情。

Hong Kong has been remarkably successful as a safe and prosperous abode because of its people, its freedoms and its institutions. Today, all three are at risk.

香港一直以來的繁榮穩定有賴於香港人、受保障的自由和完善的體制。但今時今日，這三者都存在隱憂。

Mainland China has abandoned the Sino-British Joint Declaration that had guaranteed democratic rights and free speech to Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents. Beijing does not recognize these inalienable human rights and is undermining or outright cancelling them in Hong Kong.

中國背棄了《中英聯合聲明》，以及聲明中保障香港750萬名居民的民主權利和言論自由的承諾。北京不單不承認這些不可被剝奪的人權，更在香港逐漸或直接地剝奪這些權利。

Now, China’s Communist Party is demanding, through its territorial government, that Hong Kong Canadians abandon ties with either the Special Administrative Region or with Canada. The Communist Party apparatchiks are counting on Canada to abandon our citizens.

現在，中國共產黨又通過香港政府要求居港加國公民選擇放棄與加拿大或香港的聯繫。中共此舉無疑等同要加拿大放棄我們的公民。

This is another heavy-handed attempt by Beijing to strip basic rights. It is a deplorable move by an undemocratic totalitarian regime.

這是北京強硬企圖剝奪基本權利的又一事例，一個不民主的極權政府極其惡劣的舉動。

The ramifications are massive and include the denial of mobility rights to leave Hong Kong as well as the loss of representation by the Government of Canada – including consular access. 

其衍生結果將為居港加國公民帶來極大影響，包括被剝奪離開香港的出入境權利，以及失去加拿大政府的代表權，導致他們失去領事保護權。

I, along with other Canadians, and friends of Hong Kong, call on the Government of Canada to:

我聯同其他加國公民和與香港同行的朋友，向加拿大政府提出以下訴求：

(1) Protect the rights of our citizens by informing Beijing that the mobility rights of Hong Kong Canadians are non-negotiable and sacrosanct.

保障加國公民的權利，清楚向北京表達居港加國公民的遷徙及出入境權不容侵犯的原則；

(2) Quickly open a path to Canadian citizenship for family members of Canadian citizens in Hong Kong.

盡快設立相關機制，為居港加國公民的家庭成員提供移居加拿大的途徑；

(3) Offer a three-year working visa with a path to citizenship for Hong Kong students completing an accredited study program in Canada.

為於加拿大完成認可課程的香港學生提供為期三年的工作簽證，以及入藉的機會；

(4) Expedite asylum claims made by Hong Kong people involved in the pro‐democracy movement.

加快處理香港民主運動抗爭者提出的庇護申請；

(5) Work with the United Kingdom, United States, France, Australia, New Zealand and other democracies to protect the fundamental and inviolable rights of all dual-national citizens living in Hong Kong.

與英國、美國、法國、澳洲、新西蘭及其他民主國家合作，保障所有持雙重國藉居港的國民的基本權利不被侵犯。

For many generations, Hong Kong has accepted migrants and refugees from mainland China and elsewhere in Asia who were seeking freedoms and a better life. Today, the Hong Kong people are seeking assistance from other democracies. Canada must stand with them.

數代之久，香港接納了無數來自中國和其他亞洲地區，為追求民主自由和更美好生活的移民和難民。今天，香港人正在尋求其他民主國家的幫助。 加拿大必須與香港人同行。