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Nathan Law has said he is afraid of being jailed by Beijing if he returns to Hong Kong.
One of Hong Kong’s most prominent young pro-democracy activists says he is in London after fleeing the territory following a controversial and controversial security law imposed there by China.
“I boarded my night flight … My destination: London,” Nathan Law wrote on Twitter, a week and a half after saying he had left Hong Kong.
He said he had spoken to reporters and that he lived in a “small apartment.”
Activists say China’s new law erodes Hong Kong’s freedoms.
But Beijing rejected the criticism, saying the law is necessary to stop the kind of pro-democracy protests that were seen in Hong Kong for much of 2019.
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- HK residents ready to leave for the UK
Law is a one-time student leader who rose to fame during the mass protests in 2014.
He was also a local legislator who co-founded the Demosisto Party with another well-known activist, Joshua Wong. The party dissolved when China imposed the new law.
It is unclear from his social media posts on Monday when he arrived in the UK.
What did Nathan Law publish on social networks?
Writing on social media, Law said he faced “many uncertainties” but had made the decision to leave Hong Kong “in the face of political turmoil.”
“We don’t even know if our next protest, the next court hearing, will be followed by imprisonment,” he said, adding that he had put himself “in danger.” “I have kept a low profile on my whereabouts to mitigate risks.”
In a post, which appeared to include an aerial photo of London from the window of a passenger plane, he said he had a message for Hong Kongers: “We are not fractured. On the contrary, we are well equipped to face the next difficult battle.”
Earlier this month, Mr. Law told the BBC that he would continue his advocacy work from abroad, and that the people of Hong Kong would not give up their fight. “I think the movement is still alive,” he said.
On July 1, the 27-year-old spoke through a video link to an audience in the United States Congress about Hong Kong. He told American politicians that he was concerned about returning to the territory, for fear of being jailed by Beijing.
“Merely speaking about Hong Kongers’ plight on an occasion like this contradicts the new national security law,” he said in the hearing.
“Now so much is lost in the city I love: the freedom to tell the truth.”
What is the new controversial law?
Hong Kong’s sovereignty was returned to China by Britain in 1997 and certain rights were supposed to be guaranteed for at least 50 years under the “one country, two systems” agreement.
Last month, China passed a comprehensive new security law for Hong Kong that makes it easier to punish protesters and reduce the city’s autonomy.
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It gives the Chinese state new powers over the city, allowing it to attack secession, subversion, and terrorism with punishments of up to life in prison.
The decision to implement the measure has led to widespread international condemnation.
The elements of the new and comprehensive law include:
- Making “inciting hatred” against the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong regional government illegal
- Allow closed-door trials, wiretapping of suspects, and the possibility of suspects being tried on the mainland
- Enable a wide range of acts, including damage to public transport facilities, to be considered terrorism
- Require Internet providers to release data if requested by the police
China’s new law also states that it will apply to non-permanent residents of Hong Kong and to people “from outside” the territory.
