HONG KONG — An activist who advocated for Hong Kong independence and was jailed below a sweeping nationwide safety legislation fled to Britain to hunt political asylum, in keeping with his social media posts Friday.
Tony Chung was among the many first convicted below the Beijing-imposed legislation that was launched after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. He was discovered responsible of secession and cash laundering in 2020 and sentenced to 43 months in jail.
In two Instagram posts Friday, Chung detailed how authorities carefully watched him after he was launched from jail: He was requested to satisfy with nationwide safety authorities recurrently and report back to them on the place he had been, whom he had met with and his conversations, and authorities supplied to pay him for info on others to show he had reformed himself. In addition they proposed he go to mainland China.
Chung mentioned he was made to signal a doc that barred him from disclosing his conversations with the authorities, so he couldn’t search assist from any legal professionals nor inform anybody about his state of affairs.
“Beneath monumental stress and concern, I can solely endure silently,” he mentioned.
Hong Kong authorities didn’t instantly reply to The Related Press’ request for remark.
The intimidation confronted by Hong Kong dissidents like Chung displays the drastic erosion of the freedoms promised to the previous British colony when it returned to China in 1997. However each the Beijing and Hong Kong governments have hailed the safety legislation for bringing stability to the town.
Hong Kong police have supplied rewards for info resulting in the arrests of 13 overseas-based actions and drew criticism from Western governments.
Earlier in December, outstanding pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, who left Hong Kong for Canada and doesn’t plan to return to meet her bail circumstances, reported comparable strain from authorities. Her passport, confiscated earlier by police, was solely returned to her upon assembly sure circumstances, together with a go to to mainland China with authorities, she mentioned.
In an e mail reply to the AP, Hong Kong police mentioned Chow failed to point out up at a police station Thursday as required and violated her bail phrases, pledging they’d “spare no effort in bringing her to justice.” Native media, together with the South China Morning Submit, quoted unnamed sources saying that her mother and father went to a police station to help their investigation Friday.
Chung was convenor of the now-dissolved pro-independence pupil group Studentlocalism earlier than being arrested in 2020 close to the US consulate in Hong Kong, the place media stories mentioned he hoped to hunt safety.
In line with his Instagram posts, Chung was below a supervision order by the town’s Correctional Providers Division for a yr after his launch from jail, and was banned from talking publicly.
In September, he mentioned, nationwide safety authorities requested him to make a journey to mainland China, however he advised them he was unwilling to take action. The authorities then requested him if he was being reluctant as a result of he was nonetheless concerned in actions endangering nationwide safety.
Chung mentioned he began feeling sick on occasion since October. Western and Chinese language docs advised him that his immune system weakened as a result of he was below enormous psychological stress. He later persuaded correctional providers authorities to let him journey to Okinawa, Japan, for a vacation to handle his feelings. Through the journey, he sought assist from organizations and folks primarily based abroad. He arrived in Britain from Japan on Wednesday to hunt asylum.
“This additionally means I can not return to my house, Hong Kong, in foreseeable future,” he mentioned. “Though I had anticipated the arrival of today up to now, I had a heavy coronary heart once I made up my thoughts.”
Sooner or later, Chung mentioned he would dedicate himself for his metropolis as a “Hong Konger in exile.”
“I imagine solely when Hong Kong folks do not quit, the seeds of freedom and democracy will sprout once more someday,” he mentioned.