Hong Kong activists granted asylum in U.K., Australia

[ad_1] Two Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates have introduced that they've been granted asylum: former lawmaker Ted Hui in Australia and activist Tony Chung within the U.Ok.

Video: Hong Kong activist Ted Hui on being granted asylum in Australia Each males have been convicted of violating Hong Kong’s restrictive nationwide safety regulation, which has quashed dissent after being imposed by Beijing in 2020 within the wake of large pro-democracy protests. They're amongst dozens of activists who've fled Hong Kong authorities.

Hui, a former member of the Legislative Council who left Hong Kong whereas he was out on bail in 2020, was tried in absentia and given a virtually four-year jail time period in 2022. He informed RFA on the time that his trial was “a political trial, which was solely predictable and unsurprising. The actual culprits are the tyrannical regime, not those that protest in opposition to it.”

Since Hui’s conviction, Hong Kong officers have questioned his kinfolk, positioned a HK$1 million ($128,211 USD) bounty on his seize, and, earlier this yr, seized his property.

<img src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/H34OZA6WZBCNTK6GFN2EWXLZQM.JPG?auth=dae7bd9cdcd3aa506b1f65cbd793779ddf9cee99941f4e8d9e0264a94b70cbc5&smart=true&width=1500" alt="In this May 28, 2020, file photo Pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, center, struggles with security personnel at the main chamber of the Legislative Council during the second day of debate on a bill that would criminalize insulting or abusing the Chinese anthem in Hong Kong." height="3525" width="1500" /> On this Might 28, 2020, file picture Professional-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, heart, struggles with safety personnel on the predominant chamber of the Legislative Council in the course of the second day of debate on a invoice that will criminalize insulting or abusing the Chinese language anthem in Hong Kong. (AP) Chung, who as a teenage secondary faculty scholar convened a gaggle that advocated for Hong Kong’s independence from China, was additionally sentenced to a virtually four-year time period. He was launched early for good conduct.

In an interview with RFA after he fled to Britain in 2023, Chung stated that after his launch, nationwide safety police tried to rent him as an informant, and would search him out for a gathering each two to 4 weeks, driving him in an SUV with drawn curtains to be interrogated in an unknown location.

“They needed me to admit, and show to them that I had nothing to cover and that I wasn’t participating in any additional secessionist actions,” he stated.

Chung has additionally been placed on a needed checklist, and nameless letters touting the HK$1 million reward for his seize have been despatched to his U.Ok. neighbors earlier this yr.

Hong Kong activist Tony Chung takes half in a protest, in opposition to Hong Kong's new nationwide safety regulation, the Primary Legislation Article 23, lately accredited by Hong Kong lawmakers, in London, March 23, 2024. (Kin Cheung/AP) Hong Kong’s authorities didn't remark instantly on the instances, however a spokesperson stated Saturday that “any nation that harbors Hong Kong criminals in any kind exhibits contempt for the rule of regulation, grossly disrespects Hong Kong’s authorized methods and barbarically interferes within the affairs of Hong Kong.”