The Guardian - China-We dont feel safe here Hongkongers in UK fear long reach of Chinese government
October 17, 2023 5 min 954 words
这篇报道揭示了在英国的香港民主支持者面临的困境，他们感到中国政府的长臂打压，令他们在英国也不再安全。这一情况令人担忧，因为英国一直被视为香港人的避难所，但现在他们感到被忽视和无法保护。这不仅涉及网络威胁和恐吓，还包括现实生活中的袭击。报道中提到的折磨和威胁已经对一些人产生了不小的影响，包括家庭关系和精神健康的受损。这是一个严峻的问题，需要引起国际社会的重视。 对于这些在英国的香港人，他们的感受是令人深思的。他们不仅面对来自中国政府的恐吓，还面临着英国政府无法提供足够保护的问题。这引发了一个问题，即国际社会是否能够在这种情况下采取更多措施，以确保这些人的安全。香港问题已经引发了广泛的国际关注，但这篇报道强调了需要更多关注和行动，以支持香港人的权益和自由，特别是那些选择在国外继续为民主事业而奋斗的人。这也是一个提醒，我们不能忽视中国政府对异议人士的跨国镇压，这不仅发生在香港，也可能在其他地方发生。
Ah Man*, 28, was forced to leave Hong Kong at the end of 2020 after being arrested at the height of the pro-democracy protests, when millions took to the streets in defiance of the growing influence of Beijing.
But the UK has felt anything but a safe haven for the former Hongkonger after a string of incidents involving Chinese activists.
In 2021, pro-democracy campaigners were reportedly attacked in Chinatown, central London; again in 2022 outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester; and once more this summer in Southampton.
“Of course there is repression,” says Ah Man, who always wears masks and covers himself in black during protests, and avoids using a bank card or having any online presence.
“We have learned how to protect ourselves and we observe people around us. When they insist on certain things, we know they are ‘ghosts’, people who try to immerse themselves in groups to gain information. They could be Chinese agents or Hongkongers who have been arrested and tasked with collecting information in return for escaping jail.”
The Guardian has spoken to more than half a dozen Hongkongers living in the UK who say they feel ignored and unprotected by the UK government.
Ah Man says that on one occasion, he and others were followed for several hours by an individual after a protest. They eventually confronted the person and scared him away.
The constant threats and intimidation have taken their toll on Rumi*. After being arrested in Hong Kong and released on bail, he was then followed by police. His name, address, school and phone number, as well as details about his parents, were shared online. He left Hong Kong in 2021 and now wants to tell the story of how protesters were treated and forced into exile by the authorities.
“I am exhausted. I’ve lived with these online personal attacks for the past two years. My girlfriend left me and my family is angry about me. But I just want to tell the truth and get justice.
“People wait outside my parent’s home [in Hong Kong] and watch them, sometimes even knocking on their door to threaten them. ‘Ask your son to watch out for what he said. We know who you are and where you live,’ one said to them.”
Finn Lau, 29, a prominent critic of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) who now lives in the UK, is one of eight overseas activists facing an arrest warrant from Hong Kong police, which includes a reward of HK$1m (£105,000) per person. Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, has said the activists would be “pursued for life”.
Lau says that he has been sent screenshots of Chinese nationalists discussing how to abduct and kill him. After the bounty announcement, he contacted the Home Office, but says he received no support. He now carries a strobe torch and a rape alarm given to him by a fellow Hongkonger as a deterrent to potential attackers.
Lau has already been violently attacked when walking through Richmond, west London, in a case the Metropolitan police classified as a hate crime. His worst fear, he says, is being abducted and taken to China or killed by a Chinese agent. “To be honest, the UK is not safe,” he says.
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Married artists Lumli and Lumlong were forced to leave Hong Kong two and a half years ago after their art exhibition was accused by state media of promoting independence, violating national security laws.
But after an exhibition in Lewisham, south London, in 2022, they found their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram banned after being reported for hate posts.
Just a few months ago, on their way home after a protest, they received a mysterious message on their phone outlining the route they had travelled in the previous two hours. They also found they no longer had access to one of their email accounts.
They have installed a virtual private network at home and cover their phones with an aluminium bag while talking in an attempt to block their signal. “I feel we’re crazy. We just want to express ourselves and protect our [Hong Kong] history from being rewritten,” says Lumlong.
“We didn’t think the UK was 100% safe, but we didn’t realise we could face so much repression. Not just cyber-attacks, but also physical [referring to the attacks in London, Manchester and Southampton]. We don’t feel safe here in the UK, but we can’t get back.
“The artist Ai Weiwei once said something that I didn’t understand before: ‘If we want to feel safe, we need to be loud.’ I really hate the CCP and I can’t stop myself. We will keep drawing and speaking out. We don’t want to die in silence. It is like a lifeboat for us.
“We hope the UK government can put more effort to safeguard Hong Kong people living in the UK,” she says.
* Names have been changed to protect identities