MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-08 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] The immorality that our professional dipolmatic
|
wsj.com
U.S. Citizen Says He Was Turned Away After Seeking Refuge in U.S.
Consulate in Hong Kong
John Lyons
6-8 minutes
HONG KONG—An American citizen facing prosecution related to his
participation in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong said he was turned
away after seeking protection at the U.S. consulate in the city.
“I am running out of options,” said the man, Ansen Wong, a 20-year-old
student-turned-activist.
Mr. Wong was convicted this year on a charge of criminal damage—which is
akin to vandalism—in connection with protest activities. He is now
facing trial on a charge of unlawful assembly after joining a massive
antigovernment demonstration outside Hong Kong’s legislature in 2019.
Mr. Wong was contesting the charges but missed a mandatory court
appearance on the day he approached the consulate. Unlawful assembly can
carry up to five years in prison, but in practice former protesters
found guilty of the offense have received far lighter sentences.
Hong Kong Protesters Take to Streets to Ask for U.S. Help
0:00 / 1:22
1:07
Hong Kong Protesters Take to Streets to Ask for U.S. Help
Hong Kong Protesters Take to Streets to Ask for U.S. Help
Despite the Hong Kong government’s withdrawal of a controversial
extradition bill, tens of thousands marched to call on the U.S. for
support while clashes broke out between protesters and police. Photo:
Vincent Yu/Associated Press
After entering the U.S. mission on Oct. 27 with three other dissidents,
Mr. Wong said he asked to be granted refuge inside the consulate. He
said a consular officer told him that wasn’t possible and instead gave
him advice on finding a lawyer and said diplomats would monitor his case.
A fifth activist, 19-year-old Tony Chung, who had planned to enter the
consulate as well, was arrested earlier in the day.
The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment. “Due to privacy
considerations, we cannot comment on our communications with U.S.
citizens,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson in Washington said.
The attempt by Mr. Wong and other activists to seek help from the U.S.
consulate underscores the worries of many young protesters facing
criminal charges as a result of their participation in Hong Kong’s
pro-democracy movement and opposition to China’s Communist Party.
In August, a dozen Hong Kong dissidents attempting to flee in a
speedboat to the democratic island of Taiwan were captured and jailed by
mainland Chinese authorities.
After China imposed a sweeping new national security law on Hong Kong
this year, Washington has signaled support for Hong Kong’s protesters,
who sometimes waved U.S. flags, by pledging to give priority to asylum
seekers from the city.
Mr. Wong’s predicament, however, shows the limitations of offers of U.S.
support to people still in Hong Kong, a former British colony returned
to China in 1997.
Different from granting asylum at the U.S. border, granting refuge to an
individual inside the Hong Kong consulate could spark an international
incident by potentially enraging the host country, China, according to
Jude Blanchette, a China specialist at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington. It could also encourage others to
seek protection in the consulate, he said.
Under State Department guidelines, an American who fears imminent harm
is eligible for protection at a U.S. consulate. However, U.S. embassies
and consulates don’t generally grant requests for protection to avoid
prosecution, “except in the narrowest of circumstances,” the guidelines
say. Diplomats may grant refuge to foreigners as well, but that happens
infrequently.
Mr. Wong, who was born in California but raised in Hong Kong, described
himself as a university student and bartender whose life changed after
he became active in last year’s protests. He showed The Wall Street
Journal his government-issued Hong Kong ID and a copy of his U.S.
passport. He said Hong Kong authorities are holding the original.
What China's New Security Office in Hong Kong Means for the City
0:00 / 3:09
2:49
What China's New Security Office in Hong Kong Means for the City
What China's New Security Office in Hong Kong Means for the City
China inaugurated a new security office in a former hotel near a
well-known protest hot spot in Hong Kong, a week after imposing a
national-security law on the city. WSJ's Dan Strumpf reports. Photo: Li
Gang/Xinhua/Zuma Press (Originally published July 8, 2020)
“I grew up here, and I love this place,” he said. “When I saw its
liberty being hindered every day, I knew I had to do something.”
Mr. Wong said he approached the U.S. consulate on the advice of a
London-based group called Friends of Hong Kong, which introduced him to
at least some of the other would-be asylum seekers with the idea that
they would all seek protection together. Friends of Hong Kong said it
sent a package of information to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in early
October that included the details of the would-be protection seekers and
a plea for help.
The group didn’t hear back from the State Department, said Mr. Wong and
a spokesman for Friends of Hong Kong. On Oct. 27, they approached the
consulate anyway.
The plan quickly went awry, Mr. Wong said. One of the protection
seekers, Mr. Chung, who is facing charges including secession, was
arrested while waiting for the others at a coffee shop across the street
from the consulate. Videos of the arrest quickly spread online.
Later in the day, Mr. Wong made it into the consulate along with three
other Hong Kong activists, but they were turned away, Mr. Wong said.
Hong Kong police said in a statement Tuesday that Mr. Chung was arrested
by their national security unit in relation to social media posts
published since September. The police didn’t respond to a request for
comment on reports that he and others had sought protection at the
consulate.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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