Australia grants asylum to Hong Kong pro-democracy activist
By Jessie Pang and Lewis Jackson
Hong Kong / Beijing: Pro-democracy activist Ted Hui has been granted asylum in Australia, the former politician has said in a Facebook post, more than four years after he left Hong Kong, where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Hui said on Saturday he had received written notice from the Australian Department of Home Affairs approving his claim, and that his wife, children and parents had also been granted visas.
Ted Hui said his relief at being granted asylum was tempered by sadness over missing Hong Kong.Credit: Duy Dash
“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 hometowns to visit relatives at any time. Exiles have no home.”
The Home Affairs Department did not immediately respond to emailed questions sent after business hours. The Hong Kong government and China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the decision.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing last month as part of his administration’s years-long push to improve ties with China.
A former Democratic Party politician, Hui left Hong Kong in late 2020 after facing criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests that escalated when the city’s pro-mainland chief executive, Carrie Lam, tried to rush through a new extradition law, which effectively meant anyone could be sent to the mainland for anything that offended the Chinese Communist Party.
In May, Hui told this masthead he had been left in “a dangerous situation”.
“I knew that the rules of the game had changed and that this was their new tactic, that they would come up with new things, and they would use whatever means to put you in jail.”
In 2023, Hong Kong accused him and seven others of national security offences, including incitement to secession, and put $HK1 million ($196,376) bounties on their heads.
Australia said it was disappointed by the decision at the time and concerned about the law.
Pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai is on trial in Hong Kong on charges related to a national security law imposed by Beijing and alleged sedition.
Hui ended his Facebook post with an appeal for Australia not to forget Lai and others “who still suffer in prison” and face “long sentences simply for defending basic democratic rights”.
“Australia must do more to rescue them and to speak up for their humanity. Its stance matters internationally, and its protection of Hongkongers sets a precedent for other democracies,” he wrote.
Reuters
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