Dozens of activists are on the run from authorities in the China-ruled city after a crackdown on civil liberties.
A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and a former parliamentarian wanted by the city’s Chinese authorities have been granted asylum in Britain and Australia, more than four years after facing criminal charges over the 2019 antigovernment protests.
Tony Chung, an activist who was imprisoned under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, and Ted Hui, a former lawmaker facing trial for his role in the mass demonstrations, both announced over the weekend that they have received asylum in Britain and Australia, respectively, where they now live.
They are among dozens of activists on the run from Hong Kong authorities. Civil liberties in the China-ruled city have been greatly eroded since 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law essentially criminalising dissent.
Penalties can run up to life in prison for endangering national security, treason and insurrection; 20 years for espionage and sabotage; and 14 years for external interference.
Hui, who fled Hong Kong in December 2020, is part of a group of overseas activists for whom police have offered rewards of up to 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,800). The former lawmaker is now working as a lawyer in Adelaide.
The outspoken pro-democracy lawmaker is known for disrupting a legislative session by throwing a rotten plant in the chamber to stop a debate on a bill seeking to make it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem. He was subsequently fined 52,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,600) for the act.
He announced on Facebook on Saturday that he and his family have been granted protection visas.
“I express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Australia – both present and former – for recognising our need for asylum and granting us this protection,” Hui wrote. “This decision reflects values of freedom, justice, and compassion that my family will never take for granted.”
He also expressed regret for the exile he has been forced into. “When people around me say ‘congratulations’ to me, although I politely thank them, I can’t help but feel sad in my heart. How to congratulate a political refugee who misses his hometown?” he wrote.
“If it weren’t for political persecution, I would never have thought of living in a foreign land. Immigrants can always return to their home towns to visit relatives at any time; Exiles have no home.”
Chung, who fled to Britain, had advocated for Hong Kong’s independence and was sentenced to almost four years in prison for secession and money laundering in 2020. He was released on a supervision order, during which he travelled to Japan and then to the United Kingdom.
In a post on the social media platform Threads on Sunday, he expressed his excitement at receiving refugee status in Britain along with a five-year residency permit. He said that despite his challenges over the past few years, including persistent mental health problems, he remains committed to his activism.
British and Australian authorities didn’t immediately comment on the activists’ statuses.
Hong Kong’s government did not comment directly on the cases but issued a statement on Saturday condemning “the harbouring of criminals in any form by any country”.
“Any country that harbours Hong Kong criminals in any form shows contempt for the rule of law, grossly disrespects Hong Kong’s legal systems and barbarically interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong,” the statement read.