Hong Kong activists granted asylum in Germany become first political refugees from Chinese territory

Two activists from Hong Kong wanted on rioting charges after an all-night clash between protesters and police in 2016 have been granted refugee status in Europe.

The pair, Ray Wong, 25, and Alan Li, 27, jumped bail and disappeared in 2017, neither surfacing in public.  But now, they have emerged to say they are under protection in Germany, among the first individuals from the former British colony to have received asylum abroad.

Mr Wong and Mr Li are thought to be the first individuals to be granted such status in a foreign country.

The development could reflect an important shift in how Hong Kong is perceived by the international community. Hong Kong has long enjoyed freedoms and autonomy, including an independent judiciary, under an agreement when the city was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 that was meant to last five decades.

But in recent years, activists, lawyers and even the business community have sounded the alarm over eroding freedoms in the Chinese territory.

“It is unprecedented in recent times for a Hong Kong person to be granted refugee status elsewhere because they are being persecuted in Hong Kong for their political views,” said Man-kei Tam, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, a rights group.

“This case only underlines the rapid deterioration in the right to freedom of expression in the city and just how far the government is going to silence critics.”

Germany’s decision is likely to further agitate an already controversial debate about a proposed extradition law that would allow Hong Kong to send criminal suspects to other jurisdictions it doesn’t have an agreement with, including mainland China.

Critics have raised concerns that, if passed, the law would subject anyone, including foreigners, whose work or views run counter to that of Beijing to face charges in China, where courts and judges are controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

A number of protests have ensnarled Hong Kong over the last five years as Beijing has sought to tighten control.

Mr Wong led Indigenous, an activist group that was anti-Beijing, of which Mr Li was a member. In 2016, hundreds of protesters rioted against the police in the busy shopping district of Mongkok, leading to multiple injuries and dozens arrested. Beijing later labelled the protestors as “radical separatists.”

Student leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy protests, the Umbrella Revolution, have been in and out of prison since the demonstration was halted after months. Just last week, the main student leader, Joshua Wong, was sent back to prison.

“The Hong Kong government is increasingly abusing the law to silence debate about sensitive issues like democracy and autonomy,” said Mr. Tam. “The Hong Kong authorities must cease this chilling assault against people legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expressions o no one else feels they must seek sanctuary abroad.”

Germany’s federal office for migration and refugees didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.