Australia grants asylum to former HK lawmaker and pro-democracy activist Ted Hui
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters): Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui has been granted asylum in Australia, the former lawmaker said in a Facebook post on Saturday, more than four years after he left Hong Kong where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Hui said he received written notice from the Australian Department of Home Affairs on Friday approving his claim and that his wife, children and parents were also granted visas.
"When people around me say 'congratulations' to me, although I politely thank them, I can't help but feel sad in my heart. How to congratulate a political refugee who misses his hometown?" he said in the Facebook post.
"If it weren't for political persecution, I would never have thought of living in a foreign land. Immigrants can always return to their hometowns to visit relatives at any time; Exiles have no home."
The Home Affairs Department did not immediately respond to emailed questions sent after business hours.
The Hong Kong government and China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the decision.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing last month as part of his administration's years-long push to improve ties with China.
A former Democratic Party lawmaker, Hui left Hong Kong late 2020 after facing criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
In 2023 Hong Kong accused him and seven others of national security offences, including incitement to secession, and put HK$1 million ($127,782) bounties on their heads.
Australia said it was disappointed by the decision at the time and concerned about the law.
Pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai is currently on trial in Hong Kong on charges related to a national security law imposed by Beijing and alleged sedition. ($1 = 7.8258 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Beijing and Jessie Pang in Hong Kong. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Suffering Ukrainians dismayed by outcome and optics of Trump-Putin summit
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo KYIV/ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainians expressed anger and frustration on Saturday over the failure of the U.S. and Russian presidents to agree on the need for a truce in the Ukraine war at a summit, and the sight of Donald Trump giving Vladimir Putin a red-carpet welcome in Alaska. Trump urged Ukraine to make a deal to end the war because "Russia is a very big power". Trump also said he agreed with Putin that the sides should focus on an overall peace settlement, not via a ceasefire, as Kyiv and its European allies have been demanding - until now with U.S. support. "He (Putin) won. Trump showed his attitude towards him and at the same time towards us. This meeting did not end well for Ukraine," said a 26-year-old soldier who gave only his call-sign "Dzha". "... we need to end the war. We need to really sit down at the negotiating table and talk, come to an agreement, because every day fighters die, get injured." "Dzha" was serving as godfather at a baptism in a church in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, one of four regions Russia claims to have annexed, though it does not fully control them. 'BOMBS WILL KEEP FALLING ON US' "They (Putin and Trump) made some agreements for their states," said Viktor Tkach, the chaplain conducting the baptism. "And here in Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, in the Zaporizhzhia region, we will keep suffering, glide bombs will keep falling on us." Some were outraged that Trump had invited Putin to the U.S. and treated him with such respect, as an equal. Putin has been ostracised by Western leaders since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and is wanted by the International Criminal Court, accused of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, which he denies. "Literally yesterday, a ballistic missile was launched at Sumy. And this animal (Putin) flies to Alaska where people applaud him, and the red carpet is rolled out in front of him," said Hanna Kucherenko, a 25-year-old model, in Kyiv. "How is that even possible now?" A manipulated image of Trump and Putin shaking hands on the airport tarmac against the backdrop of bombed residential apartment blocks in Ukraine circulated widely online. "I do not know what Trump is even thinking about. I have an impression that he is just the same (as Putin)," said Kyiv pensioner Tetiana Vorobei. "They are identical." (Writing by Gareth Jones; Additional Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Anwar pauses duties to visit recovering Lintang assemblyman
IPOH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today took time out from his busy schedule to visit Perak State Rural Development, Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industries Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun, who recently underwent surgery. The prime minister, on a working visit to Perak, called on Zolkafly at the state executive councillor's residence after officiating the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ipoh Sentral development project this afternoon. "While inquiring about his health, we also exchanged views on various current issues affecting the people and the state's development," he said in a post on his Facebook page. Anwar also prayed for the speedy recovery of the Lintang state assemblyman. Earlier in his visit, he officiated the Madani Dairy Carnival at the Perak Farm Fresh Dairy Complex in Larut and inspected the construction of a new road from Kamunting to Anak Kurau, Larut Matang Selama (LMS) Phase Two, part of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development's Rural Road Programme (JALB). - Bernama
Barnama
5 hours ago
- Barnama
PM Anwar Takes Time Off From Busy Schedule To Visit Lintang Assemblyman
IPOH, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today took time off from his busy schedule to visit Perak State Rural Development, Plantation, Agriculture, and Food Industries Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun, who recently underwent surgery. The Prime Minister, who was on a working visit to Perak today, visited Zolkafly at the state executive council member's residence after officiating the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ipoh Sentral development project this afternoon. "While asking about his health, we also exchanged views on various current issues concerning the people and the state's development," he said in a post on his Facebook page.
