Hong Kong democracy activist faces deportation from Britain while small boat migrants given homes

A prominent Hong Kong democracy activist is facing deportation from Britain - while small boat migrants pouring into the country are handed homes.

Wu Chi-wai, 63, who previously served as a legislative councillor in the former British Crown Colony, had travelled to the UK intending to settle under the British National Overseas (BNO) passport scheme, according to friends.

He spent four years behind bars in Hong Kong after being convicted of "subversion" under Beijing's national security legislation, and was freed from prison earlier this year.

The BNO route permits Hong Kong holders of the passport to seek residency after entering Britain, bypassing the formal asylum application process.

Paul Harris, a former chairman of the Hong Kong bar association, was left bewildered at Mr Chi-wai's treatment by British authorities.

"The immigration officer just told him he was confiscating his passport and that he would be deported back to Hong Kong in seven days," Mr Harris told The Times.

"It's really odd he had this treatment. Maybe the immigration made a simple mistake he either thought he should be applying from overseas as with other visas, or maybe he thought his four-year sentence made him a criminal, even though he was in my view a prisoner of conscience."

The Home Office confirmed it is aware of the situation, with an administrative paperwork problem at the border understood to be the cause.

The same department is overseeing plans that could see thousands of small boat migrants housed alongside social housing tenants.

Around 10,000 asylum seekers are expected to move into residential properties across London, the South East and Wales under the proposals, with some developments set to be shared between migrants and local authority tenants.

Lord Alton, the Liberal Democrat peer, has condemned Mr Chi-wai's treatment.

"Detention and threatened deportation of a pro-democracy advocate is the sort of belligerent behaviour I associate with the Chinese Communist Party rather than the UK," he said.

"Shabana Mahmood has had a long and honourable track record in calling out the many violations of human rights in China.

"I hope she will find out what happened at Heathrow and explain the difference between dictatorship and democracy to whoever threatened Mr Wu."

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Mr Chi-wai served as a legislative councillor for eight years between 2012 and 2020, having previously worked as a social worker and studied in the US before entering politics.

He became party chairman in 2016.

Mr Chi-wai was among 47 leading democrats and scholars who staged an unofficial primary election ahead of the 2020 legislative council polls - the first protest to be punished under the restrictive "national security" laws imposed following mass demonstrations in 2019.

He was swept up in multiple arrests from November 2020 onwards and formally charged in 2021 for his part in organising the primaries.

Mr Chi-wai entered a guilty plea, as did the majority of his co-defendants, believing conviction was inevitable and hoping to secure a lighter sentence.

Of the 47 accused, only two who maintained their innocence were cleared, whilst the remaining 45 received prison terms of between four and seven years.

The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation warned that returning Mr Chi-wai to the territory would be devastating, as he could face further persecution.

"Clearly, he's come here seeking the safety Britain promised to Hong Kongers targeted by the regime because they stood up for the values enshrined in the Sino-British Declaration," a spokesman said.

"When the Home Office fails to train its officials to recognise the difference between political charges and the real deal, this is the result heroes of the pro-democracy movement are treated like outcasts."

Meanwhile, a Home Office spokesman said: “The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.

“We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”

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