[ad_1]
Danish authorities refuse to meet with the famous Hong Kong politician.
Ted Hui has been a prominent figure in the Hong Kong demonstration movement. The elected politician was often at the forefront of protests last year. Photo: LAM YIK, Reuters / NTB
On Tuesday morning, a tired and nervous 37-year-old man landed at Kastrup Airport on the outskirts of Copenhagen. He was invited to the Danish capital to attend a conference on climate policy.
But he knew that the conference was an invention. An invention of a small group of Danish politicians. A pretext to give him the opportunity to flee his native land.
Now Ted Hui, one of Hong Kong’s most famous activists and politicians, is a political refugee, a dissident in exile. He knows that it is impossible for him to return home immediately.
“I don’t know how to describe the pain I feel right now,” he wrote in a Facebook post explaining why he now chooses to flee Hong Kong.
He adds that he will continue to fight for a free homeland. One day he also hopes to return.
“Hong Kong is my only home. That is why I will not apply for political asylum either. After liberation, I will return home and give everyone a tearful hug,” Hui writes in the post.
Aftenposten met Ted Hui in Hong Kong in August last year. He then said that he and the other politicians had failed to secure democracy in Hong Kong. Therefore, he supported the protesters in the streets. Photo: Espedal, Jan Tomas
also read
Hong Kong assembly is emptying itself of pro-democracy politicians
Guri Melby: – He is fearless and committed
It was Danish politicians Uffe Elbæk, who belongs to the Frie Grønne party, and Katarina Ammitzbøll from the Conservative People’s Party, who invited Hui to Denmark.
– We will do everything possible to make you feel safe, Elbæk writes on Twitter.
Hui visited Norway until February. Then he met, among others, Guri Melby. This was before she became Minister of Education and leader of the Liberal Party.
Melby also met him in Hong Kong last year, just before nominating the entire population of the city for the Nobel Peace Prize.
– I hope Ted and his family are well. He is an intrepid and committed politician, says Melby. She adds that she is even more concerned about events in Hong Kong now than when she was there last summer.
Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide is also concerned.
– The democratic space in Hong Kong is getting smaller, he says.
She adds that she is particularly concerned about the development of the last week. In addition to fleeing from Ted Hui, three prominent pro-democracy activists have been sentenced to prison in recent days.
– It is very regrettable and a weakening of the democratic rights and freedoms of citizens, he says, adding:
– Respect for human rights and an independent judiciary are crucial for Hong Kong’s future development, says Eriksen Søreide.
Ine Eriksen Søreide is concerned about developments in Hong Kong Photo: Ørn E. Borgen
Danish authorities stay away
It is unclear how long Hui will be in Denmark. His wife and two children also left Hong Kong and will now be in London.
The case has created a difficult dilemma for the Danish government. The Chinese authorities are furious that Hui has managed to escape, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen knows that they would direct some of this anger against Denmark if she or some other members of the government had decided to meet with Hui.
Therefore, they have ignored him after he landed on Kastrup.
– The government has not invited Hui and we did not know about the visit. We have no plans to meet him, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told Danmarks Radio.
also read
Last year, Hong Kongers demonstrated against extradition to China. Now 12 of them are experiencing exactly what they feared the most.
Danish authorities fear that relations with China will deteriorate. That’s why they accept a kind of self-censorship, says Jessica Ka Yi Chiu, who chairs the Norwegian committee in Hong Kong.
– Criticism of Beijing is the new blasphemy. All of this emphasizes how important it is for Western countries to unite in multilateral forms of cooperation so that we are no longer so vulnerable to the attacks of divide and rule from the Chinese authorities, he tells Aftenposten.
Withdrew from Parliament
Ted Hui was a highly visible figure on the demonstration trains in Hong Kong last year. He was often in the front line. It was a buffer between the protesters and the police.
– By standing in front of the protesters, I can help protect them. I am at your service, he told Aftenposten when we visited him at the Hong Kong office in August last year.
Chinese authorities in Beijing introduced a new security law on June 30 this year. Then the demonstrations ended. Working conditions in the Legislative Assembly also became so difficult that Hui and the rest of his party, the Democrats, withdrew in November.
Ted Hui and the rest of the opposition withdrew from the Hong Kong local parliament in November. Photo: Kin Cheung, AP / NTB
Hui was arrested again in November and released on bail. He was accused of disrupting the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly after throwing a rotten plant at the Speaker of Parliament. The seeding was a protest against the fact that the legislature wanted to outlaw the insult to the Chinese national anthem.
The trial against him was supposed to start in February.
Jessica Ka Yi Chiu of the Hong Kong Committee does not believe Hui will receive a fair sentence after the charges against him. Now he hopes that he will join the international front line to strengthen the fight for human rights in Hong Kong.
– I would say that it is impressive how the Danish politicians have helped Ted get to Denmark, he says.
