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Reuters, HONG KONG and BEIJING
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui (許智?) has been granted asylum in Australia, the former lawmaker said on Saturday, more than four years after he left Hong Kong, where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Hui said he received written notice from the Australian Department of Home Affairs on Friday approving his claim, and that his wife, children and parents were also granted visas.
“When people around me say ‘congratulations’ to me, although I politely thank them, I can’t help but feel sad in my heart. How to congratulate a political refugee who misses his hometown?” he posted on Facebook.
Photo: AFP
“If it weren’t for political persecution, I would never have thought of living in a foreign land. Immigrants can always return to their home towns to visit relatives at any time; Exiles have no home,” he wrote.
The home affairs department did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions sent after business hours.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement it was “against the harboring of criminals in any form by any country.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to questions about the decision.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing last month as part of his administration’s years-long push to improve ties with China.
A former Democratic Party lawmaker, Hui left Hong Kong in late 2020 after facing criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
In 2023 Hong Kong accused him and seven others of national security offences, including incitement to secession, and put HK$1 million (US$130,000) bounties on their heads.
Fellow Hong Kong activist Tony Chung (鍾翰林) yesterday said he had been granted asylum by the UK, in a post on his X account.
He was sentenced to three years, seven months in prison in late 2021 after being convicted of secession and money laundering.
Pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai (黎智英) is on trial in Hong Kong on charges related to a national security law imposed by Beijing and alleged sedition.
