UK Consular official in Hong Kong, Simon Cheng, granted political asylum in Britain
Simon Cheng Man-kit, the former UK consulate staffer tortured by Chinese secret police, has been granted political asylum in the UK. He is the first British National Overseas (BNO) passport holder from Hong Kong to receive the status.
“I am pleased the UK’s Home Office has granted me a political asylum but I have fixed feelings because the situation in Hong Kong is very worrying,” Cheng told reporters in a virtual press conference on Wednesday the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong’s sovereignty handover.
“I hope that I can be the precedent for other Hong Kong citizens to seek asylum and humanitarian protection,” he said.
His announcement coincides with the first day of Hong Kong’s new national security law taking effect. Mr Cheng said he was granted the asylum before the new law was promulgated, which he thinks means the UK government has begun to lose confidence in China’s ruling of Hong Kong under the “One country, two systems” political framework.
Boris Johnson has said Hong Kong’s freedoms were violated by the new security law imposed by Beijing and those affected would be offered a route out of the former British colony. The UK said it will offer a path to citizenship for Hong Kong residents who hold a BNO passport.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said China has broken its international obligations of the 1985 Sino-British joint declaration, which outline how certain freedoms would be protected for the 50 years after China assumed sovereignty in 1997.
About 315,000 people currently hold BNO passports, though about 3 million people who let their status lapse upon expiry would be eligible to renew.
Mr Cheng, a Hong Kong citizen, applied for asylum in December after being disappeared by Chinese secret police for more than two weeks last summer, during which he was subjected to physical torture, psychological intimidation, political indoctrination, and repeated interrogations.
The UK government publicly acknowledged Mr Cheng’s treatment and granted him a visa to arrive in the UK.
He hopes other governments around the world can stand together to protect Hong Kong citizens, standing against China’s authoritarianism and expansion in the future.
He said the issue is not just about Hong Kong, but the international community’s expectation with China.
He is setting up an information platform with other overseas political activists from Hong Kong to share their experience of seeking political asylum. Germany granted asylum to two Hong Kong activists who were facing rioting charges in May 2018.
Mr Cheng’s new status allows him to stay in the UK for five years and he has a path to full citizenship. But Mr Cheng is unsure of his plans. He still regards his home as Hong Kong and he wants to go back someday.
He sought asylum with his Taiwanese fiancée as his dependent, who also received the status.
“I promise if we go back to Hong Kong, we’ll go back to our hometown with democracy and freedom in the future, so we’ll keep that faith,” Mr Cheng said.
