Wanted Hong Kong activist-in-exile vows to continue push for democracy

Berlin, Aug. 1 (CNA) Hong Kong activist-in-exile Ray Wong (黃台仰) believes he and five others have been put on a Hong Kong wanted list for violating the national security law to deter overseas Hongkongers from building groups that promote democracy there.

The 26-year-old Wong, the former convener of Hong Kong Indigenous, a political group known for its localist stances, was charged with rioting in 2016 following the Mong Kok clashes that broke out in February that year.

He skipped bail and fled to Germany in November 2017 while awaiting trial on charges related to the Mong Kok riot. He was granted refugee protection in Germany in May 2018, and has been studying political science at the University of Göttingen since October 2019.

On July 31, Hong Kong police issued a wanted list of six overseas-based democracy activists accused of breaching the new Hong Kong national security law, including Wong, according to Hong Kong media reports.

In an interview with CNA on Saturday, Wong said he was not surprised by the Hong Kong government's decision and was not afraid of it.

He believed that issuing the wanted list was aimed not at arresting those on it but rather at deterring overseas Hongkongers from connecting with those on the wanted list and preventing them from forming organizations, he said.

Wong recently founded the Haven Assistance with other Hongkongers-in-exile, such as Lam Wing-kee (林榮基), a Hong Kong bookseller, to help Hong Kongers move abroad.

Lam was arrested for selling politically sensitive books but has defied mainland China and reopened his bookshop in Taiwan.

Wong also met with Simon Cheng (鄭文傑), a former employee of the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong, who is also on the wanted list.

Wong said many Hongkongers want to move overseas and his main task in the near future will be to organize other Hongkongers-in-exile and lobby foreign political leaders in various countries to bring the influence of Hongkongers to bear on the communities in which they live.

Meanwhile, in an interview Saturday with German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle's (DW) Chinese Service, Wong said he will not stop speaking out for Hong Kong despite being targeted or threatened by Beijing.

Establishing a platform or channel for international communication will be a lifeline to Hong Kong's longstanding survival, he said.