(Bloomberg) -- Australia is suspending its extradition agreement with Hong Kong, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, a move which stands to further inflame tensions with China.
Australia will also give skilled Hong Kong migrants five year visas with pathway for permanent residence, Morrison said at a briefing in Canberra on Thursday. His announcement comes after Canada suspended its extradition agreement with the former British colony last week, making it the first country to break law enforcement links with the city since China enacted sweeping new national security legislation.
“There will be citizens of Hong Kong who may be looking to move elsewhere, to start a new life somewhere else, to take their skills, their businesses and things that they have been running under the previous set of rules and arrangements in Hong Kong, and seek that opportunity elsewhere,” Morrison said. “Australia has always been a very welcoming country to such people.”
Australia said earlier Thursday that its citizens in Hong Kong were at an increased risk of detention, saying national security legislation could be interpreted broadly.
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