Most Republican lawmakers see the Chinese Communist Party as oppressive — a government that has massacred activists and imprisoned religious and political dissidents. They’ve embraced pro-democracy Hong Kongers in recent years and worked with Democrats to help victims of genocide in China.
But members of those groups who are living in the United States — and are in the process of seeking asylum — are now at heightened risk of being sent back to danger by their own GOP allies, as incoming President Donald Trump prepares to quickly implement a sweeping mass deportation program.
“I’ve read Project 2025. I understand that when it is suggested that immigrants should be deported and the asylum system dismantled, it also includes these brave human rights defenders,” pro-democracy activist Joey Siu wrote on X after Trump won the election. “They are on the verge of being sent back to authoritarian countries that eagerly await their return and imprisonment.”