A prominent pro-democracy activist revealed he has fled Hong Kong for a secret overseas location after Beijing imposed draconian new security laws on the territory.
Nathan Law, a founder of the pro-democracy Demosisto party and a figurehead of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, announced the move on Facebook late Thursday.
It came just hours after he testified online to US Congress about the new security law, which criminalises acts of ‘succession, subversion and collaboration with foreign powers’ with a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Law’s departure also came just hours before Beijing named the man who will lead its security forces in the region, which are now allowed to operate independently of the Hong Kong police with the power to arrest and prosecute people.
Zheng Yanxiong, a 56-year-old politician from Guangdong province which borders Hong Kong, is known as a party hardliner with a history of putting down protests.
Nathan Law, a prominent pro-democracy activist, has left Hong Kong amid fear of reprisals under China’s new security law. Meanwhile Beijing has appointed Zheng Yanxiong (right), a party hardliner with a history of putting down protests, to lead its security forces in the city
China’s new security bill outlaws acts of succession, subversion and collaborating with foreign powers, with a maximum penalty of life in jail (pictured, police suppress pro-democracy protests in the city this week)
Former UK consulate worker warns China will send spies to quash protests overseas
Simon Cheng, a former employee at the British consulate in Hong Kong, has expressed his concerns over Beijing’s next crackdown move on pro-democracy activities overseas.
Mr Cheng, who has received asylum from the UK, worries that Beijing ‘will take my family members as hostage and send more agents to crush down the pro-democracy cause and activities outside of Hong Kong.’
The pro-democracy supporter, who alleges that he was detained and tortured in China last year, has been granted political asylum in what he believes is the first successful case from the former British colony.
Simon Cheng, a former employee at the British consulate in Hong Kong, has expressed his concerns over Beijing’s next crackdown move on pro-democracy activities overseas
Mr Cheng, 29, told The Associated Press that he hopes his successful application encourages other democracy activists from the semi-autonomous Chinese territory to seek protection in the UK as Beijing clamps down on the city´s protest movement.
‘My case is about political persecution intrinsically,’ Mr Cheng said Thursday in London.
‘I hope my case could be a precedent for other Hong Kongers who are not protected by the British National Overseas lifeboat scheme. They can quote my case to apply for asylum and seek protection.’
Several other asylum cases involving people from Hong Kong are pending, he said.
In 2011 he led Beijing’s security forces in stamping out anti-corruption protests in Wukan, a village in his home province.
On Friday Hong Kong police announced the first charges against a man under the new security law, after he was arrested at a pro-independence rally earlier this week.
The 24-year-old, who was not named, was charged with one count of inciting succession in others and one count of terrorist activity.
The man is accused of driving his motorbike into a group of Hong Kong officers during the demonstration.
Video footage captured by local television showed a man on an orange motorbike with a flag on the back reading ‘Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times’ – a popular protest slogan that has been ruled illegal under the new laws.
He turned down a side street and drove into a group of riot police.
Bystander footage shot on a mobile phone captured a scene moments later, where the man was swiftly detained after he fell to the ground.
Police at the time said their officers were wounded.
Announcing his departure from Hong Konga day earlier, Law wrote: ‘The choices I have are stark: to stay silent from now on, or to keep engaging in private diplomacy so I can warn the world of the threat of Chinese authoritarian expansion.
‘I made the decision when I agreed to testify before the U.S. Congress.’
Law caught a flight out of the city but refused to reveal where he has gone or who he is staying with for fear of reprisals.
He acknowledged that his decision is bound to attract criticism, but said he was left with few choices if he wanted to keep advocating for Hong Kong’s independence.
Joshua Wong, another prominent activist who co-founded Demosisto with Law, remains in the city.
The party itself has been dissolved, amid fears it would be targeted by officials in the wake of the law passing.
Critics say the law effectively ends the ‘one country, two systems’ framework under which the city was promised a high degree of autonomy when it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong government on Tuesday night released a statement stating that popular protest slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times’ is now banned under the security law.
On Wednesday, thousands took to the streets to protest the new legislation.
Police arrested some 370 people, 10 of whom were detained on suspicion of violating the new law.
In some cases, suspects were found to be carrying paraphernalia advocating Hong Kong’s independence, police said.
As China moves to assert its new jurisdiction over Hong Kong, Beijing appointed Luo Huining – currently director of Beijing’s Liaison Office in the semi-autonomous city – as the national security adviser to the newly-formed national security commission.
The commission is chaired by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who was hand-picked for the role by Beijing.
The State Council on Thursday also appointed veteran Hong Kong official Eric Chan Kwok-ki as the commission’s secretary general.
The commission – also created by the new law – will oversee policy formulation relating to the national security law in Hong Kong.
Chan previously served as the director of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive’s Office, before which he was the territory’s head of immigration.
Pro-democracy protesters make a hand gesture referencing five demands to guarantee independence from China during a march this week
Chinese media says Boris is ruining UK’s economy by inviting three million Hong Kongers to relocate
Beijing’s state media has claimed that the Prime Minister’s offer to relocate three million Hong Kongers is ruining the country’s economy and risking job opportunities for the locals.
Global Times, a major Chinese propaganda newspaper, said that the British government current priority ‘should be to revive economic activity and protect local jobs’ in an article published Thursday.
The news outlet continued: ‘Allowing 3 million Hong Kong residents to influx into UK would only undermine such economic efforts.’
The state media also claimed that the UK government had an ‘obsession with the former British colony’.
Beijing’s state media has claimed that the Prime Minister’s offer to relocate three million Hong Kongers is ruining the country’s economy and risking job opportunities for the locals. Boris Johnson is pictured speaking in the House of Commons on July 1
Global Times wrote: ‘Hong Kong may evoke memories of UK’s past “glory” for a few Britons, the European country can hardly revisit its colonial dream by continuing to meddle in other countries’ internal affairs.
‘The country may assume it has some responsibility for Hong Kong, but that’s just an illusion,’ the article said.
‘Its colonial days were forever gone, and it would be a breach of its own position as well as international law if the UK government continues to interfere in the city’s administration.’
The newspaper also warned: ‘If the British government indulges in its colonial-era fantasy, it will only arouse public concern among Chinese people and harm UK-China relations.’