Letter to all my fellow Substackers:

I am a Hong Konger living in Tokyo, Japan, and a former China researcher of Amnesty International and a former Visiting Scholar of the University of St. Andrews . I lived in the UK in 2021-2022. I am a BNO passport holder and applied for and was granted the 2.5-year BNO visa at that time. I am writing to express my grave concerns about the UK government’s handling of Mr. Wu Chi-Wai (reuters.com/world/uk/uk…), a former Hong Kong legislator and former chairman of the Democratic Party, when he tried to enter the UK at Heathrow. It’s outrageous that he was warned by the immigration officers at the border that he would be deported in a couple of days. Due to mounting public pressure, he will be allowed to stay in the UK for half a year (hongkongwatch.org/all-p…). Why was he treated like a criminal? It’s because he was charged with a political offense and he was unjustly tried and served the ridiculous sentence. One must wonder why the UK Home Office would not have any information about him and the so-called offense related to “national security” against him and other pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. I am appalled about the UK government handled the case. The promise the UK government made to Hong Kongers was like a sheer lie. The BNO simply does not provide any protection. The intimidation of deportation against him is against the UN non-refoulement principles that prohibit sending people to countries where there are solid and credible evidence of arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment. It’s like a second blow to him after suffering from the oppression of the Communist Chinese regime. The UK government should stop being complacent to the Chinese government’s demands. The mega Chinese Embassy (independent.co.uk/news/…) plan in London is already a clear betrayal to respect of universal values of human rights. If cases like Wu Chi-wai are not rectified, nobody can trust the UK’s commitment to human rights again.

Patrick Poon

Tokyo, Japan