Secondary school student Tsang Chi-kin, who was shot in the chest by police while taking part in a demonstration on Oct. 1 last year, is now living in exile and free, a U.K.-based group said Tuesday (Dec. 22), but the group did not disclose the location of the exile.
Tsang Chi-kin, 19, was the first protester to be shot by live police fire during Hong Kong’s more than seven-month-long struggle for democracy last year. He was later charged with rioting and assaulting a police officer. His case was arraigned in District Court on Tuesday, but Tsang did not appear in court as scheduled. The prosecution said in court that Tsang had not reported to police since Oct. 24, and that the judge decided to issue a warrant for his arrest after police went to the address he reported a few days ago but could not find him.
Friends of Hong Kong, an organization whose goal is to support the British government in guarding and helping Hong Kong people, said on its Facebook page Tuesday that Tsang and some of his comrades had left Hong Kong and that Tsang had officially declared that they were in exile. But it did not say how he left Hong Kong or where he was in exile.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon through the Friends of Hong Kong website, Tsang said, “The so-called crimes and punishments committed under the totalitarian regime should not be accepted, and neither pleading guilty nor going to jail should be among our choices. .” It also said that Zeng Zhijian will never surrender in the face of the CCP’s political suppression.
To find a way to continue the struggle, Zeng and his comrades sought assistance from the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong on Oct. 27, the statement said. The statement also said that Zeng Zhijian’s girlfriend, Aurora, requested support and protection from Friends of Hong Kong after she was followed by unknown persons in Hong Kong. With the organization’s assistance, Aurora is starting a new life in the United Kingdom and continuing her studies.
Tuesday’s statement revealed that Tsang had sought help from the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong on Oct. 27.
On the same day, former Student Mobilization convener Hanlin Chung was also alleged to have sought political asylum at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong. In addition to Chung, four other people entered the U.S. Consulate in a group that day. But before entering, they were arrested by police, who accused them of violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law.
The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong said it could not help them and asked them to leave. The consulate did not name the helpers or give details at the time. Under U.S. policy, asylum requests can only be made upon arrival on U.S. soil.
In an interview with AFP in October, Tsang said he intended to plead guilty. He said his participation in the struggle for democracy and seeing millions of Hong Kong people take to the streets “changed my life forever when I got shot.” He dropped out of school and had part of his lung removed, he added.
Protests in Hong Kong last year turned into increasingly violent clashes between protesters and police. In response to the police shooting of Tsang Chi-kin, officers said it was “reasonable, legal and in accordance with the guidelines” to fire because they felt their lives and those of their fellow officers were in danger.
Since the implementation of Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law on June 30, Hong Kong authorities have continued to crack down on the media, activists and freedom of expression, forcing several prominent Hong Kong activists and former lawmakers to declare their own exile and some to flee the city on charges related to the demonstrations. Ongoing cluster restrictions on the new crown epidemic have also effectively ended protest actions in Hong Kong.
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