Britain to Allow More Hong Kongers to Settle Under Lifeboat Plan

BANGKOK — 

The British government has decided to expand a program allowing some Hong Kong residents to settle in the U.K., providing a potential lifeboat for thousands of young people seeking to escape increasingly repressive Chinese rule in the former British colony.

The British Nationals Overseas, or BNO, plan that gives millions of Hong Kong residents the chance of British citizenship, was launched 13 months ago. The move came after the Chinese government imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, which critics say has restricted the city’s freedoms.

Previously, only Hong Kong residents born before 1997 — when the city was handed back to China from Britain — were eligible to apply for citizenship through the plan.

But following a parliamentary meeting Thursday, British Immigration Minister Kevin Foster outlined in a written statement the changes, which are expected to go into effect in October.

“It is right and important to address this, so the Government has made the decision to enable individuals aged 18 or over who were born on or after 1 July 1997 and who have at least one BN(O) parent to apply to the route independently of their BN(O) parent,” part of the statement read.

Approximately 5.4 million residents were eligible for the BNO plan prior to Thursday’s amendment, with more than 100,000 applications received since January last year. Successful applicants can work and study in Britain for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship.

Hong Kong

But a campaign backed by senior British politicians and the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, urged British lawmakers to open the plan to Hong Kong’s younger residents.

Britain-based Hong Kong Watch, a nonprofit organization monitoring human rights and freedoms, released a statement welcoming the news.

“We are delighted that the Government has taken the bold and moral step to expand the BNO Visa for those brave young Hong Kongers who are not currently covered by the scheme.”

Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch chief executive, praised the move.

“This is a very significant development, which will provide a lifeline to many young Hong Kongers whose only option until now was applying for asylum. It sends a clear message that the U.K. will honor its responsibilities to Hong Kongers and that Hong Kongers are very welcome in the U.K.,” he told VOA.

VOA has contacted the Hong Kong chief executive’s office for comment but has yet to receive a response.

In 2019, Hong Kong saw widespread anti-government protests that sometimes turned violent as demonstrators opposed a controversial extradition bill and called for further freedoms. Many demonstrators were either students or in their 20s.

Beijing responded by passing the national security law for Hong Kong in June 2020. It strictly prohibits acts deemed as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson then announced that his government was launching the BNO program to aid residents in the former British colony because the security legislation threatened Hong Kong’s unique freedoms.

China has not recognized the BNO passport for Hong Kong residents since Jan. 31, 2021.

The lifeboat plan, however, has already contributed to thousands leaving, data suggest. According to data released by Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s population declined 1.2% by mid-2021, equating to approximately 89,200 people, the biggest decrease in Hong Kong’s population in 60 years, Agence France-Presse reported.

A government spokesperson has defended the decline, insisting the figures are due to a lack of new arrivals into the city.

Joseph Cheng, a political analyst formerly of Hong Kong but now in New Zealand, said the amendment is a boost for younger Hong Kong residents.

“This is going to be a major help to the young people in Hong Kong who want to emigrate, especially for those who do not have the wealth. The U.K. has been the most favored destination for Hong Kong people who plan to leave,” he told VOA.

“The exodus reflects the general disappointment with the government on the part of the Hong Kong society,” Cheng added.

An initial assessment by the British government previously estimated that by 2026, up to 300,000 could apply to emigrate via the BNO plan. As of Dec. 31, 2021, 103,900 applications had been received.

Ernie, a 20-year-old student in Hong Kong, told VOA he would now consider applying for the plan.

“I feel positive that the U.K. government is finally stepping up, helping the young adults in Hong Kong. [The] Hong Konger community in the U.K. is huge and growing. It would be easier for Hong Kong people to settle,” he said.

Ernie is considering moving to Britain because of health and political measures in Hong Kong.

“[Hong Kong is] too strict in pandemic measures. [And the] political environment keeps evolving. The idea that a lot of people who you support three, four years ago, before any protest begin, are being prosecuted and jailed right now for whatever reason seems frightening,” he said.

Michael Mo, a former district councilor in Hong Kong who now resides in Britain, said many who emigrate will be students needing financial support for their studies.

“The next step of the U.K. government, if they change the rules, should allow BNO visa holders to be treated as home fee students at universities. “Home fees are capped by the Government and generally lower than international fees,” according to the House of Commons Library website.

Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” agreement that would see the city enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” for 50 years. But critics have said Beijing has since broken this agreement by tightening its grip on the city’s political and lawful affairs.

Hong Kong’s national security law has had a dramatic effect on the city. Street protests and slogans have been banned. Hundreds of dissidents have been arrested, including dozens of democratic lawmakers, and media outlets also have been forced to close.

American Women Players Settle Suit Against US Soccer for $24M

U.S. women soccer players reached a landmark agreement with the sport’s American governing body to end a six-year legal battle over equal pay, a deal in which they are promised $24 million plus bonuses that match those of the men.

The U.S. Soccer Federation and the women announced a deal Tuesday that will have players split $22 million, about one-third of what they had sought in damages. The USSF also agreed to establish a fund with $2 million to benefit the players in their post-soccer careers and charitable efforts aimed at growing the sport for women.

The USSF committed to providing an equal rate of pay for the women’s and men’s national teams — including World Cup bonuses — subject to collective bargaining agreements with the unions that separately represent the women and men.

“For our generation, knowing that we’re going to leave the game in an exponentially better place than when we found it is everything,” 36-year-old midfielder Megan Rapinoe said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “That’s what it’s all about because, to be honest, there is no justice in all of this if we don’t make sure it never happens again.”

FILE – United States Soccer Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe speaks during an event to mark Equal Pay Day in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus, March 24, 2021.

The settlement was a victory for the players, who sparked fans to chant “Equal Pay!” when they won their second straight title in France in 2019. And it was a success for USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, a former player who became head of the federation in March 2020.

Cone replaced Carlos Cordeiro, who quit after the federation made a legal filing that claimed women had less physical ability and responsibility than male counterparts.

“This is just one step towards rebuilding the relationship with the women’s team. I think this is a great accomplishment and I’m excited about the future and working together with them,” Cone said. “Now we can shift the focus to other things, most importantly, growing the game at all levels and increasing opportunities for girls and women.”

U.S. women have won four World Cups since the program’s start in 1985, while the men haven’t reached a semifinal since 1930.

FILE – US players celebrate with the trophy after the France 2019 Women’s World Cup football final match between USA and the Netherlands, July 7, 2019, at the Lyon Stadium in Lyon, central-eastern France.

Five American stars led by Morgan and Rapinoe began the challenge with a complaint to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2016. Women sued three years later, seeking damages under the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The sides settled the working conditions portion in December 2020, dealing with issues such as charter flights, accommodations and playing surfaces. They were scheduled to argue on March 7 before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to reinstate the equal pay portion thrown out by a U.S. District Court.

“The settlement announced today is an important step in righting the many wrongs of the past,” the union for the women’s team said in a statement.

While a labor contract remains to be reached and ratified to replace the deal that expires March 31, the settlement was an enormous step.

“It’s so gratifying to feel like we can start to mend a relationship with U.S. Soccer that has been severed for so many years because of the discrimination that we faced,” said Morgan, a 32-year-old forward. “To finally get to this moment feels like we can almost sigh a breath of relief.”

Players were able to put off the legal distractions to continue on-field success.

“The additional hours and stress and outside pressures and discriminations we face, I mean sometimes you think why the hell was I born a female?” Morgan posed. “And then sometimes you think how incredible is it to be able to fight for something that you actually believe in and stand alongside these women. … There was something more than stepping on the field and wanting to be a starter or wanting to score goals or wanting to win or wanting to have the glory.”

The $22 million will be split into individual amounts proposed by the players, subject to the District Court’s approval.

Cone said the federation’s method of equalizing World Cup bonuses is yet to be determined. The federation has until now based bonuses on payments from FIFA, which earmarked $400 million for the 2018 men’s tournament, including $38 million to champion France, and $30 million for the 2019 women’s tournament, including $4 million to the champion U.S.

American men have been playing under the terms of a CBA that expired in December 2018.

Rapinoe was critical of both Cordeiro and his predecessor, Sunil Gulati, who headed the USSF from 2006-18. Cordeiro is seeking to regain the job from Cone when the USSF National Council meets on March 5 to vote on a four-year term.

“The thing that Cindy did was acknowledge the wrongdoing and apologize for the wrongdoing,” Rapinoe said. “It was well within Sunil’s ability to not discriminate and to pay us fairly and equally. It was well within Carlos’ ability to do that, and they made choices not to. … I think Cindy has shown a lot of strength in that, and I think the other two, frankly, just showed a ton of weakness and showed really their true colors in allowing this to happen for so long.”

Sandy Hook Families Settle with Remington After 2012 Massacre

The families of nine victims of a massacre at an elementary school nearly ten years ago in the northeastern U.S. state of Connecticut reached a $73 million settlement Tuesday in a lawsuit against Remington Arms, the maker of the rifle used in the mass killing.

The settlement is a rare instance of a U.S. gunmaker paying damages for bloodshed arising from the criminal use of a firearm.

“While this settlement does not erase the pain of that tragic day, it does begin the necessary work of holding gun manufacturers accountable for manufacturing weapons of war and irresponsibly marketing these firearms,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday.

Biden encouraged state and local lawmakers, as well as victims of gun violence, to pursue similar actions.

“Together, we can deliver a clear message to gun manufacturers and dealers: they must either change their business models to be part of the solution for the gun violence epidemic, or they will bear the financial cost of their complicity,” the president said.

FILE – Officials stand outside of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where authorities gunman Adam Lanza opened fire inside the school killing 20 first-graders and six educators at the school and killed himself as police arrived.

Twenty first grade students and six educators were killed on December 12, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut by Adam Lanza, who repeatedly fired a Remington semi-automatic rifle as he made his way through the school.

The families and a survivor of the massacre sued Remington in 2015, maintaining the company should have never sold such a dangerous military-style weapon to the public. They also said they are focused on preventing other mass shootings.

“Today is not about honoring our son Benjamin. Today is about how and why Ben died,” said Francine Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son was killed in the massacre. “Our legal system has given us some justice today, but David and I will never have true justice. True justice would be our fifteen-year-old healthy and here with us.”

The civil lawsuit in Waterbury Superior Court focused on how the Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle was marketed, maintaining Remington singled out younger, at-risk males in marketing and in product placements in violent video games.

Remington did not immediately comment on the settlement but the gunmaker had argued there was no evidence that its marketing of the rifle was linked to the killings.

The gun manufacturer also had said the lawsuit should have been dismissed because of a federal law that grants broad immunity to the gun sector. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled, however, that Remington could be sued under state law over how it marketed the rifle.

Remington appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

The gunmaker offered to pay the plaintiffs nearly $33 million in July. In 2018, Remington filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and emerged from it later that year under the control of its creditors. The company filed for bankruptcy again in July 2020 after more retailers restricted gun sales after other school shootings in the U.S.

The plaintiffs said four insurers for Remington agreed to pay the full amount of coverage available, totaling $73 million.

“This victory should serve as a wake-up call not only to the gun industry, but also the insurance and banking companies that prop it up,” said Josh Koskoff, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “For the gun industry, it’s time to stop recklessly marketing all guns to all people for all uses and instead ask how marketing can lower risk rather than court it.”

The rifle used by Lanza, who was 20 years old at the time of the shootings, was legally owned by his mother. He used to the rifle to kill his mother at their Newtown home before committing the mass shooting at the school. Lanza killed himself with a handgun as police arrived.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

Sandy Hook Families Settle With Remington After 2012 Massacre

The families of nine victims of a massacre at an elementary school nearly ten years ago in the northeastern U.S. state of Connecticut reached a $73 million settlement Tuesday in a lawsuit against Remington Arms, the maker of the rifle used in the mass killing.

The settlement is a rare instance of a U.S. gunmaker paying damages for bloodshed arising from the criminal use of a firearm.

Twenty first grade students and six educators were killed on December 12, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut by Adam Lanza, who repeatedly fired a Remington semi-automatic rifle as he made his way through the school.

The families and a survivor of the massacre sued Remington in 2015, maintaining the company should have never sold such a dangerous military-style weapon to the public. They also said they are focused on preventing other mass shootings.

“Today is not about honoring our son Benjamin. Today is about how and why Ben died,” said Francine Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son was killed in the massacre. “Our legal system has given us some justice today, but David and I will never have true justice. True justice would be our fifteen-year-old healthy and here with us.”

The civil lawsuit in Waterbury Superior Court focused on how the Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle was marketed, maintaining Remington singled out younger, at-risk males in marketing and in product placements in violent video games.

Remington did not immediately comment on the settlement but the gunmaker had argued there was no evidence that its marketing of the rifle was linked to the killings.

The gun manufacturer also had said the lawsuit should have been dismissed because of a federal law that grants broad immunity to the gun sector. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled, however, that Remington could be sued under state law over how it marketed the rifle.

Remington appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

The gunmaker offered to pay the plaintiffs nearly $33 million in July. In 2018, Remington filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and emerged from it later that year under the control of its creditors. The company filed for bankruptcy again in July 2020 after more retailers restricted gun sales after other school shootings in the U.S.

The plaintiffs said four insurers for Remington agreed to pay the full amount of coverage available, totaling $73 million.

“This victory should serve as a wake-up call not only to the gun industry, but also the insurance and banking companies that prop it up,” said Josh Koskoff, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “For the gun industry, it’s time to stop recklessly marketing all guns to all people for all uses and instead ask how marketing can lower risk rather than court it.”

The rifle used by Lanza, who was 20 years old at the time of the shootings, was legally owned by his mother. He used to the rifle to kill his mother at their Newtown home before committing the mass shooting at the school. Lanza killed himself with a handgun as police arrived.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

Journalists Settle Suit Over Mistreatment Covering Protests

MINNEAPOLIS, USA — 

The state of Minnesota has agreed to pay $825,000 and change several policies to settle a lawsuit brought by journalists who said they were hurt or harassed while covering protests over the police killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and the state’s Department of Public Safety announced the settlement Tuesday. It prohibits the Minnesota State Patrol from attacking journalists, arresting or threatening to arrest them, ordering them to disperse, seizing their equipment and more.

It also calls for an independent review of all complaints alleging mistreatment of the media covering those protests, and issuing body-worn cameras to all troopers by June.

Several journalists reported being struck by less-lethal munitions, herded and detained while covering protests. After Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by an officer in Brooklyn Center in April, the city’s police station was surrounded for several nights by protesters.

Tim Evans, a freelance photographer, described to The Associated Press how officers surrounded protesters after a 10 p.m. curfew passed, then charged into the crowd and began pepper-spraying and tackling people.

Evans said he was punched in the face, his credentials were torn off and an officer believed to be a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy forced him to his stomach and knelt on his back.

Other journalists posted photos and videos online showing police detaining them while checking their credentials, and in at least one case spraying chemical irritants.

The ACLU said other portions of the settlement require that the State Patrol be trained on treatment of the media and First Amendment rights.

Litigation continues against other defendants, including the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin County.