Former Hong Kong legislator Law Kwun-chung, who is currently in exile in the United Kingdom, has decided to apply for political asylum. He confirmed the news in a post on his Facebook page on Monday (Dec. 21).
December 21 is the winter solstice, a Chinese lunar festival. In the post, Law said, “The winter solstice is a time for families to gather in celebration and prepare for the cold snap. Come 2020 in Hong Kong, for many people, it is a luxury to be able to reunite with their families. ……” . He said he decided to apply for political asylum in the UK after “a series of struggles”.
The Hong Kong Police Force officially wanted Lo Kwun Chung and six other “fugitives to overseas chaos” under the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law on July 31. He said that if he wanted to renew his HKSAR passport, he would have to enter the Chinese embassy to go through the procedure, which is the same as “automatically sending China”.
He is the former chairman of the founding party of the Hong Kong Alliance for Democracy and People’s Livelihood and a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. The Chinese authorities have called the Hong Kong Alliance for Democracy and People’s Livelihood a Hong Kong independence organization. Law is known for his role in the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” protests, which called for universal suffrage for Hong Kong people. Afterwards, Lo, Wong Chi-fung and Chow Ting formed the Hong Kong Alliance for Democracy and People’s Livelihood. The group was disbanded before the June 30, 2020, effective date of the Hong Kong version of the national security law.
However, Wong Chi-fung, Chow Ting and other key members of HKZ were sentenced on Dec. 2 to prison terms ranging from seven to 13 months on charges of inciting, organizing and participating in an unauthorized assembly in connection with the siege of police headquarters on June 21 last year.
Law left Hong Kong and landed in the United Kingdom at the end of June this year. In a guest commentary in The Guardian on Monday, Lo said he chose the U.K. over the U.S. because he wanted to sound the alarm in Europe about the dangers posed by Beijing. He said there is already cross-party agreement on this in the United States, while there are still many in the United Kingdom and the European Union who see Beijing as a potential strategic partner.
Law concluded his Facebook post by saying, “No matter where I am, I will never give up my identity as a Hong Kong citizen and will be proud of this identity that represents will, courage and the pursuit of freedom.
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