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| Ray Wong (left) and Alan Li (right) at the German Parliament in Berlin |
That's because Ray Wong Toi-yeung and Alan Li Tung-sing were facing criminal charges for their alleged role in the Mongkok riot in 2016, and they fled Hong Kong in November 2017 before their trial. They were granted refugee status in Germany last May.
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| Police detain Wong (second left) during the Mongkok riots |
According to Germany policy, the government would have to consider whether the pair faced persecution back home based on their political opinion or a disproportionate or discriminatory judicial proceeding when granting them asylum and subsequently a settlement permit equivalent to citizenship.
Wong, 25, said he decided to go public with his asylum status because the Hong Kong government was trying to push ahead with the extradition bill, which would allow the transfer of criminal suspects to mainland China, a law that some critics fear could be used for political purposes.
He and Li, 27, will speak at the German Parliament on June 4, the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The event is hosted by the Green Party, where academic Kristin Shi-Kupfer and writer Zhou Qing will speak as well.
We're intrigued and impressed how Wong and Li managed to get asylum in Germany, but how will they fare there? Hope they've been learning German... would they change their political stance of mainlanders now that they can count Ai Weiwei and Liu Xia as their fellow dissidents?
