Hong Kong activist Nathan Law seeks asylum in UK

Nathan Law, one of the most prominent young activists in the Hong Kong movement for democratic reforms, announced Monday (December 21st) that he had sought political asylum in the United Kingdom, saying he wanted to work for a "

stronger force for rights humans and freedom

”.

Read also: In Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai's last fight

"

I had a hard time answering the question of whether I should stay in the UK, but I came to a decision and an asylum application was lodged,

" Nathan Law, 27, said in a statement. column published by The Guardian newspaper.

He explains that he chose his destination because of the need for Westerners to come out of “

the illusion

” of believing that China could be “

a strategic partner, perhaps even part of the democratic world

”.

According to him, if the adoption in the United States of a hard position vis-à-vis Beijing makes “

consensus

”, “

this is not the case in the United Kingdom and in the European Union

”: “

c 'is the reason why I boarded a plane to London,

"he said, saying" to

hope that (his) presence can serve as an alarm to remind us how much the Chinese Communist Party constitutes a danger to our people. democratic values

”.

Nathan Law is a young leader of the Hong Kong Democracy political party Demosisto, which announced its dissolution in July just after the Chinese parliament passed controversial national security legislation.

This party was founded by students at the end of the Umbrella Movement in 2014 against Beijing's growing hold over the former British colony.

In July, Nathan Law announced that he had fled Hong Kong and then found himself in London.

Beijing enacted a draconian national security law on June 30, imposed on Hong Kong to suppress subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, in response to the protest movement targeting the territory since last year. semi-autonomous central power.

This law represents the most radical change for Hong Kong since its handover by the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Pro-democracy activists fear an unprecedented erosion of the freedoms and autonomy granted to the former British colony.

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