Key China foe flees Hong Kong
Democracy agitator Law had testified at congressional hearing
HONG KONG — Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law has left the city for an undisclosed location after testifying in a U.S. congressional hearing about a tough new security law imposed by mainland China on the semi-autonomous territory.
Law, who declined to disclose his whereabouts for safety, said in an interview Friday that he had left because Hong Kong needs an advocate for democracy who can work internationally.
Under the new security law, activists and politicians in Hong Kong who speak to foreign media or testify in foreign hearings can be arrested for secessionism or colluding with foreign forces, Law said.
The security law, which took effect Tuesday night, targets secessionist, subversive or terrorist acts as well as collusion with foreign forces intervening in the city’s affairs.
Under Beijing’s direction, local authorities have moved swiftly to implement the law’s sweeping conditions, with police arresting about 370 people Wednesday, including 10 on suspicion of directly violating the law, as thousands took to the streets in protest.
China’s Cabinet on Friday appointed a veteran Communist
Party cadre who rose to prominence during a crackdown on villagers seeking land rights in 2011 as head of a new central government national security office in Hong Kong.
Zheng Yanxiong and his department will report directly to Beijing without oversight from Hong Kong’s courts or any requirement that they answer to local authorities.