Former Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai, a former Hong Kong Legislative Council member, received an icy reception upon arriving in the United Kingdom shortly after completing his prison sentence for offenses under the National Security Law.
Wu was sentenced to four years and five months for conspiracy to subvert state power and released from Stanley Prison. Less than a month after his release, he flew to London, banking on support from Western forces hostile to China. Instead of receiving the assistance he anticipated, he was placed in a holding room at Heathrow Airport, his passport confiscated, and informed that he faced deportation within seven days.
According to reports by Britain's The Times, UK Border Force officials questioned his stated purpose of travel and suspected he intended to overstay his visa. Wu told border officers he intended to visit family members, yet his explanation was met with skepticism. His wife and son had already settled in the UK permanently, and Wu had no steady income following years of imprisonment, prompting authorities to label him a potential migrant at risk of overstaying.
This incident lays bare a stark truth. Western governments are quick to offer vocal sympathy and rhetorical support to individuals critical of China, yet national self-interest always prevails in practical decision-making. Those who rely on foreign political backing will find themselves abandoned as soon as they lose their usefulness to these Western forces.
Chris Tang Ping-keung, Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, stated that offenders who have fully served their sentences enjoy the same legal rights as all other Hong Kong residents. Should they encounter difficulties when traveling overseas, they may apply for assistance from Hong Kong's Immigration Department. He emphasized that this provision does not represent any leniency for offenses against national security.
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