2023-12-29 05:29:00
Young Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Tony Chung, convicted of “secession” under the national security law imposed by Beijing, announced Friday that he had managed to reach the United Kingdom and requested political asylum there.
Then aged 20, Tony Chung was in 2021 the first activist to be imprisoned under this law, after demanding the independence of the territory returned by the United Kingdom to China in 1997.
Sentenced to three and a half years in prison, he was released last June but remained under close control by the authorities.
On Facebook, the activist says he obtained permission to vacation on the southern island of Okinawa in Japan, and from there organized his departure to Europe with the help of “individuals and organizations” American, Canadian and British.
“I arrived safely in the United Kingdom and made an official request for political asylum upon entry into the country,” he wrote in a long press release posted on his Facebook account on Friday.
“It also means that in the near future, it will be impossible for me to return to my home in Hong Kong. Although I anticipated this day, the moment I made my decision, my heart sank,” he said. he added.
Tony Chung founded the student association Student Localism in 2016, which demanded the independence of Hong Kong.
This association was part of the pro-democracy movement at the origin of major demonstrations in 2019 to demand more autonomy, but where independence demands remained in the minority.
Citing the unrest caused by these often violent demonstrations, Beijing enacted a “national security law” in 2020 repressing secessionism and making it possible to muzzle any dissident voice.
“I am convinced that as long as the people of Hong Kong never give up, the seeds of freedom and democracy will germinate again,” Tony Chung assured in his message on Facebook.
He also described the strict control to which he said he had been subject since his release, claiming to have been prevented in particular from taking a job and seeking legal aid.
The young activist was arrested in October 2020 by plainclothes police officers a few meters from the American consulate from which he wanted to request asylum.
Some Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have been able to flee abroad in recent years. Several are behind bars, including former media mogul Jimmy Lai, who is currently on trial and faces life in prison.
12/29/2023 04:28:07 – Hong Kong (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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