Hong Kong activist Ted Hui granted asylum in Australia

upday.com 2 godzin temu

Australia has granted asylum to Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui, the former parliamentarian announced in a social media post. The Guardian reports the asylum protection extends to his wife, children, and parents as a family unit.

Ted Hui fled Hong Kong four years ago and first arrived in Europe in December 2020. In March 2021, he became the first Hong Kong politician to be granted a special travel exemption during coronavirus restrictions to enter Australia.

He was convicted in his absence in 2022 for taking part in pro-democracy protests and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail.

Emotional refugee experience

Hui expressed mixed emotions about his asylum grant in Saturday's announcement. "When people around me say 'congratulations' to me, although I politely thank them, I can't help but feel sad in my heart," he wrote. "How to congratulate a political refugee who misses his hometown?"

"If it weren't for political persecution, I would never have thought of living in a foreign land," the 42-year-old father added. "Immigrants can always return to their home towns to visit relatives at any time; Exiles have no home."

Harassment campaign targets family

Hong Kong police placed a HK$1 million bounty on Hui and several other overseas activists in 2023. Earlier this year, his Adelaide colleagues received an anonymous letter offering $203,000 Australian dollars for information about his movements and family.

Fake pamphlets portraying Hui as a pro-Israel lawyer bent on "waging war" against Islamic terrorism were reportedly circulated to local mosques in an apparent effort to threaten and discredit him. Hui blamed "the Chinese regime's long arm" for the international harassment campaign.

Commitment to Australian values

The Adelaide-based lawyer said he now identifies more closely with Australia than when he arrived four years ago. "My family and I are determined to give back to Australia in every way we can--through our work, our civic engagement, and our commitment to the values of democracy and freedom," he said.

Hui called on the Australian government not to forget activists still imprisoned in Hong Kong, including media mogul Jimmy Lai, the British citizen currently on trial. "Australia must do more to rescue them and to speak up for their humanity," he said. "Its stance matters internationally, and its protection of Hongkongers sets a precedent for other democracies."

Diplomatic complications

The asylum decision comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese works to improve ties with China, Australia's largest export market. Albanese visited Beijing last month, where President Xi Jinping said the China-Australia relationship "has risen from the setbacks and turned around, bringing tangible benefits to the Chinese and Australian peoples".

The Hong Kong government responded that it was "against the harbouring of criminals in any form by any country." The relationship between Australia and China had suffered during the pandemic as both countries imposed punitive trade tariffs on each other.

Sources used: "PA Media", "The Guardian", "The Independent"

Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.

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