Wanted Hong Kong activists granted asylum in Germany
TWO activists from Hong Kong have been granted political asylum, a first for the territory, amid growing pressure from mainland China.
Ray Wong, 25, and Alan Li, 27, jumped bail and disappeared in 2017 after being charged with rioting during clashes between protesters and police.
They have now emerged to say they are under protection in Germany, believed to be the first time individuals from Hong Kong have been granted such status in a foreign country.
The development could reflect an important shift in how Hong Kong is perceived by the international community. Hong Kong has long enjoyed freedoms and autonomy, including an independent judiciary, under an agreement when the city was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 that was meant to last five decades.
But in recent years, activists, lawyers and even the business community have sounded the alarm over eroding freedoms in the territory.
“It is unprecedented in recent times for a Hong Kong person to be granted refugee status elsewhere because they are being persecuted in Hong Kong for their political views,” said Man-kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, a rights group.
“This case only underlines the rapid deterioration in the right to freedom of expression in the city and just how far the government is going to silence critics.”
Germany’s decision is likely to further agitate an already controversial debate about a proposed extradition law that would allow Hong Kong to send criminal suspects to other jurisdictions it does not have an agreement with, including mainland China. Critics have raised concerns that, if passed, the law would subject anyone, including foreigners, whose work or views run counter to that of Beijing, to face charges in China, where courts and judges are controlled by the ruling Communist Party.
Several protests have taken place in Hng Kong over the past five years as Beijing has sought to tighten control.
Mr Wong led Indigenous, an antibeijing activist group, of which Mr Li was a member. They were among dozens arrested in 2016, as hundreds of protesters rioted against the police in
‘The Hong Kong government is increasingly abusing the law to silence debate about sensitive issues’
the busy shopping district of Mongkok. Beijing later labelled the protesters as “radical separatists”.
Student leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy protests – dubbed the Umbrella Revolution – have been in and out of prison since the demonstration was halted. Last week, Joshua Wong, the main student leader, was sent back to prison.
“The Hong Kong government is increasingly abusing the law to silence debate about sensitive issues like democracy and autonomy,” said Mr Tam. “The authorities must cease this chilling assault against people legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression so no one else feels they must seek sanctuary abroad.”
Germany’s federal office for migration and refugees did not respond immediately to a request for comment.