Groups seek improved HK aid planOFFICE ISSUES: Advocates said the rules on political asylum and the conditions for offering humanitarian assistance to Hong Kongers should be revealed to the publicBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterA coalition of civic groups yesterday called for the Hong Kong Humanitarian Assistance Action Plan to be improved by making it more transparent and flexible. The civic groups commended the government for the plan after the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday unveiled it and an office to oversee it, but added that there were problems with it. International law forbids a government from repatriating asylum seekers against their will, so the government must not repatriate applicants to Hong Kong should they not want to return there, she said. Asked whether Hong Kongers seeking asylum through unconventional means would be approved, Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) at a later news conference said that those situations would be reviewed case-by-case. The government has always provided Hong Kongers with assistance, and the council would likewise strive to provide substantial assistance within its purview, he added.

Source: Taipei Times June 19, 2020 15:56 UTC