Hong Kong activist seeking UK asylum

Nathan Law, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist in exile in London, has revealed that he has applied for political asylum in Britain.

Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law. Picture: AFP

Nathan Law, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist in exile in London, has revealed that he has applied for political asylum in Britain, drawing a warning from China that he should not be granted refuge.

“If I don’t act now, I will become a person with no passport, no identity,” Mr Law, 27, wrote on Facebook. “After much thought struggle, I decided to seek political asylum in the UK and become one of the Hongkongers dispersed around the world.”

Mr Law, who was once the youngest MP in Hong Kong, is wanted by police there under a national security law on suspicion of inciting to split the country, a crime punishable by a life sentence.

“I miss everything in Hong Kong and I am thinking about all the fellow activists behind bars,” Mr Law wrote. “But as a wanted person under the national security law as reported by official media, I will not be able to return to my home town as long as Hong Kong is ruled under tyranny.”

Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said: “We strongly oppose any country, organisation, or individual to ­interfere with Hong Kong affairs, interfere with Hong Kong’s ­judiciary in any way, or harbour criminal elements for political motives.”

Since China imposed the draconian new law on the former British colony on June 30, the authorities have been rounding up pro-democracy activists and politicians. Many have chosen to flee to avoid persecution. Others, such as Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, both 24, have been jailed.

On Tuesday a Hong Kong court told Lam Cheuk-ting, 43, a former MP charged with participating in last year’s pro-democracy protests, that he must surrender his passport and was no longer exempt from a travel ban.

Ted Hui, 38, another former pro-democracy MP, fled Hong Kong when he travelled to Denmark, ostensibly to attend a conference on climate change. He is now in exile in Britain.

The Times