Hong Kong activist Nathan Law says UK has granted him political asylum

Shanghai, China, Apr 8 (efe-epa).- Prominent pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, who went into exile from Hong Kong in July 2020, has announced that the British authorities have granted him political asylum.

“After several interviews in 4 months, the Home Office has informed me that my asylum application is approved,” Law said on Twitter, adding that his situation “may not apply to all Hong Kong asylum seekers.”

“Some may not have enough evidence to substantiate their claims due to lack of media reports or fleeing before the persecution. Fears over their claims being denied, most of them live in distress and anxiety,” the activist said.

His case was approved by the British Home Office because “the fact that I am wanted under the National Security Law shows that I am exposed to severe political persecution and am unlikely to return to Hong Kong without risk,” he added.

Law, one of the most prominent student leaders of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and leader of the now-defunct Demosisto political party, left the city in early July last year, shortly after Beijing imposed the contentious national security law.

That law, the Chinese authorities’ response to the continuous anti-government protests in Hong Kong in the second half of 2019, punishes secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with up to life imprisonment.

However, according to Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK, the police of the former British colony has yet to confirm multiple media reports that Law is wanted for alleged national security violations.

An arrest warrant was issued against Law after he failed to attend a hearing in October, when he was already out of Hong Kong, on the vigil on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre (June 4), which was banned by the authorities.

“I hope that my case can help the Home Office understand more about the complicated situation in Hong Kong,” Law said, urging the British authorities to “consider more comprehensive evidence when coping with Hong Kong cases” in order to “free more protestors from Beijing’s authoritarian oppression.” EFE-EPA

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