Zhang Kunyang, a former spokesman for the Hong Kong University’s international affairs delegation, who has been known as an “international front”, confirmed on Facebook that he has left Hong Kong and hopes that the outside world will pay more attention to and help other Hong Kong democracy activists who have been forced into exile and are behind bars.
Zhang Kunyang has been involved in drawing international attention to Hong Kong since the anti-amendment movement erupted in 2019. He has visited the U.S. Congress and called for legislation to sanction Hong Kong and Chinese officials who undermine Hong Kong’s commitment to a high degree of autonomy. In July, he ran in the Democratic primary for the Legislative Council and was one of the successful candidates representing the democratic camp.
In August, leftist newspapers in Hong Kong reported that Zhang Kunyang had left the territory and that he was planning to set up a parliament-in-exile overseas. At the time, he did not respond to the authenticity of the news on his personal Facebook page.
On the evening of September 15, Hong Kong time, Zhang Kunyang confirmed that he was no longer in Hong Kong, and thanked the public for their concern. He explained that due to various security and strategic reasons, he was unable to provide his location at this time, and asked for everyone’s forgiveness.
He said that he had hesitated to leave Hong Kong in the early days of the implementation of the National Security Law because he personally wanted to stay on; however, as tensions rose and hostage diplomacy began to take hold, he was followed more and more, and even his partner and family were harassed. In the end, he reluctantly left Hong Kong for security reasons.
However, he says he has been luckier than many people because of his popularity, so he doesn’t want to talk too much about himself. He said that there are too many individuals in the city who need attention and hopes that the outside world “can do more to help other brothers and sisters who have been forced into exile and are in prison. They may not be the main characters in the spotlight, but they are the most celebrated figures of the movement,” he said.
At the end of his article, he wrote: “In the end, I look forward to returning to the land with my head held high in the near future. As always, I will use my position and knowledge to fight alongside the people of Hong Kong. I have parted today, but I do not know when we will be together again.”
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