Student Activist Flees Hong Kong, Seeks Asylum in UK

Facts

• Tony Chung, a former leader of a pro-independence group Studentlocalism, has fled Hong Kong to seek asylum in the UK. Chung had been under a one-year supervision order since his prison release in June, which mandated him to apply for permission to travel abroad.¹
• According to a Correctional Services Department official, a recall order has been issued for Chung to return to prison while law enforcement agencies mull issuing an arrest warrant.²
• Chung persuaded the National Security Department to approve his Christmas trip to Japan to 'emotionally adjust' to life outside detention. Once in Okinawa, he reportedly boarded a flight to London.³
• In a Facebook post on Thursday, the 22-year-old student activist said that Hong Kong police had arbitrarily tightened their surveillance, imposed restrictions to prevent him from finding temporary jobs, and exploited his financial condition to push him to become a paid informant.⁴
• Previously, pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow had skipped bail and fled to Canada after taking a 'study tour' to the PRC to retrieve her passport. Chow's account of her interaction with police is similar to that of Chung, who was arrested trying to enter the US Consulate to seek political asylum three years ago.⁵
• About a year and a half after his arrest under the Beijing-imposed national security law, Chung pleaded guilty to inciting secession and money laundering and was handed a 43-month prison sentence.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, ³Washington Post, ⁴CNN, ⁵Radio Free Asia and ⁶South China Morning Post.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by RTHK. Whatever the reasons for someone to be under a supervision order, everyone is treated equally despite their offenses, as the Correctional Services Department focuses on rehabilitation. Yet, Chung has irresponsibly violated the one-year supervision under which he has blatantly defied the rule of law in Hong Kong. Now, he must serve the remainder of his sentence in prison.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Reason.com. Chung is just the latest Hong Kong pro-democracy activist to seek refuge in a liberal democracy to protect his free speech and thought as the abusive national security law continues to suppress legitimate and peaceful dissent at home — and even abroad. In the face of long-arm authoritarianism that risks becoming globalized censorship, the West must stand alongside activists facing political persecution in Hong Kong.

Predictions