Former Hong Kong opposition Democratic Party leader Wu Chi-wai has reportedly entered the UK to seek asylum after being detained at Heathrow Airport where he was initially told he would be deported, according to media reports.
The Times first reported on Thursday, citing friends, that Wu had arrived in the UK to seek asylum. The 63-year-old was released from prison last month after serving four years and five months for plotting to overthrow the city. the biggest national security case.
Traveling on a British National Overseas (BNO) passport, Wu was detained at London’s Heathrow, The Times reported citing UK-based Paul Harris, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association.
“The immigration officer just told him that he was confiscating his passport and that he would be deported to Hong Kong in seven days,” Harris said.
Later on Thursday, Hong Kong media reported that Wu had been allowed into the UK after a 10-hour border hold.
A Home Office spokesperson told HKFP: “The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”
There is understood to have been an administrative issue with Wu’s documents at the border, HKFP has learned from sources familiar with the matter. The issue was not related to the democrat’s status in Hong Kong.
The trial of 47 Democrats
The Times reported that Wu was seeking UK residency through a scheme for BNO holders introduced in 2021, which allows a fast-track to permanent residency after five years – compared to a 10-year standard for most migrants.
Wu regained his freedom last month and was the 20th defendant in the landmark case The “Hong Kong 47” case. to have served prison time after being convicted of plotting to carry out a coup under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2024.
The issue revolved around an unofficial election primary in July 2020, through which the city’s opposition camp hoped to draw up a list of candidates to maximize the chance of winning a legislative majority in a future poll.
The judges ruled that, if the defendants won a majority, they intended to abuse their powers to indiscriminately veto the government’s budget and force the chief executive to resign. That would create a “constitutional crisis”, the judges said.
Including Wu, 45 defendants were convicted, with legal scholar Benny Tai receiving a 10-year prison sentence – the longest in the case. There were two innocent.
The UK issued hundreds of thousands of BNO passports to Hongkongers before handing the city over to Beijing in 1997.
BNO holders can apply for asylum once they arrive in the UK and not from abroad, according to The Times.
Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers have immigrated to the UK since 2021including prominent pro-democracy activists such as Nathan Law and Finn Lau – both of whom are wanted by Hong Kong’s national security police.
Beijing introduced national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 after a year of pro-democracy protests and riots. He criminalized it subversion, secession, cooperation with foreign forces and acts of terrorism – broadly defined to include disruption of transportation and other infrastructure. This move gave the police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds ARRESTS BETWEEN new legal precedentswhile dozens civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say so restore stability and peace in the city, rejecting criticism from trading partners, AND AND NGO.
