Two Hongkongers Are Refugees in Germany

Ray Wong (left) and Alan Li (right) at the German Parliament in Berlin

Yesterday it was reported two pro-independence activists involved with the localist group Hong Kong Indigenous have been granted asylum in Germany. The Hong Kong government has yet to react to the news.

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.

Police detain Wong (second left) during the Mongkok riots

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) said it received two asylum applications from Hong Kong in 2017.

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?

Rejected Before the Ballot

Chan Ho-tin of Hong Kong National Party had his nomination rejected

The controversial second form that would-be candidates had to sign, acknowledging that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China, has, as expected, weeded out some pro-independence candidates.

Andy Chan Ho-tin of the Hong Kong National Party that advocates independence, said he received an email from the Electoral Affairs Commission, saying his application to run in New Territories West had been "invalidated".

Seven others are in a similar situation to Chan, but have yet to hear back from the electoral commission. They include a member of Youngspiration, and five from an alliance between Civic Passion, Proletariat Political Institute and Hong Kong Resurgence Order.

Why does the electoral commission choose who runs or not?

Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous hasn't had a response yet either.He apparently dropped his pro-independence platform and signed the form.

In the meantime Chan said he would seek a judicial review and a future election petition.

"The National Party is honoured to become the first party to be banned from joining a democratic election by the government due to political difference," the party wrote on its Facebook page. It urged those who supported democracy to boycott the election as the move "has violated the Basic Law".

There are two points to this story.

Edward Leung is still waiting to hear back on his application

Article 1 of Chapter 1 of the Basic Law says: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China".

As a result, advocating independence is a lost cause already.

However, by the same token, why is the Electoral Affairs Commission given the political task of weeding out people based on their election platforms?

This body should be as apolitical as possible. Why it should even issue a second form is redundant, as the first one declares the signatory upholds the Basic Law, ie, that they accept that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China.

Obviously someone was meddling in this so who was it?

Hong Kong Activists Advised to be Strategic

As Hong Kong seems more polarized than ever before in the political arena, with localists gaining a larger voice, a democracy expert says separatism is "suicidal".

Professor Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University in the United States, says any attempt to advocate independence, or look at it as a way out of "one country, two systems" by 2047, will only push Beijing to crack down on Hong Kong, and further marginalize the already weak pro-democracy camp.

"I think it is suicidal," said Diamond who is visiting here. "It's not the way Hong Kong is going to achieve democracy and deeper or more meaningful autonomy. It is just going to play into the hands of the hardliners in China."

Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung appeals to many

While localists like Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous managed to get over 60,000 votes in a recent by-election, putting him firmly in third place, it demonstrated he clearly appealed to a demographic that wanted their voices heard. But Diamond thinks this is not the way to go.

"When you have been victimized... and been treated unjustly, as the whole Hong Kong population has been, the natural reaction is anger, frustration and resentment," he said. "But being mad as hell and resolving that you are not going to take it anymore is an emotion but not a strategy."

He suggests this is why the 79-day Occupy protests failed in large part because the protesters should have been more empathetic and get into the minds of their political adversaries in a bid to neutralize the opposition.

At the same time Diamond stresses he is not telling activists to change their aspirations, but to act strategically with an analytical mind.

Diamond says Occupy protesters should have been empathetic

Definitely food for thought for the pan-democratic camp and of course the localists when they think about their strategy, particularly in the run-up to September's Legislative Council elections.

Intriguingly, he believes communism will be out of the picture by long before 2047, and that through painful transition, China will be governed with a federalist democracy system.

Beijing probably dismisses Diamond's theory as unthinkable, and out of spite will probably do anything it can to survive beyond 2047.

However, it's an interesting prediction he's making and China watchers will definitely try to read the tea leaves to see if that may come true...

Hong Kong's Political Third Way

Civic Party's Alvin Yeung managed to win his predecessor Ronny Tong's seat

On Sunday there was a by-election in New Territories East to replace Civic Party co-founder Ronny Tong Ka-wah who vacated the seat and quit the party last June.

His seat was hotly contested, particularly after the Mongkok riot last month and all eyes were on Edward Leung Tin-kei, who belongs to Hong Kong Indigenous, a localist group that is keen to protect the city and its culture from being eroded by "mainlandization", or influences from Beijing.

However Hong Kong Indigenous is more radical, organizing protests against parallel traders in border areas like Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui. Leung was also an active participant in the Mongkok incident, who was later arrested and charged with rioting.

There were seven candidates campaigning for the seat, and there were concerns the pro-Beijing camp would possibly win.

Edward Leung of Hong Kong Indigenous got 15% of the vote

In the end the Civic Party managed to retain the seat, with barrister Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu winning 37.2 percent of the vote, followed by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the pro-Beijing camp with 34.8 percent.

However in third place, newcomer Leung managed to get 66,524 of the 432,581 votes, or 15.4 percent of the votes. He had a respectable third place showing which demonstrates many things.

Many people, possibly young ones, voted for the 24-year-old undergraduate at the University of Hong Kong because they strongly believe in what Hong Kong Indigenous stands for, and their vote is a rebuke against the Hong Kong government, particularly Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

It also indicates the old guard, both the pro-Beijing camp and the pan-democrats, have to contend with this new blood, as young people are becoming more politically active to have their voices heard.

However, those who wanted to protest against the Hong Kong government, but don't approve of radical tactics voted for the Civic Party, which in the end prevailed.

As Hong Kong Indigenous can no longer be dismissed as a fringe group, or "a small number of separatists" according to Beijing, the upcoming Legislative Council elections in September will be very interesting.

For some, there is a third way, parties like Hong Kong Indigenous, Youngspiration and Civic Passion, that represent the frustrations of young people, but for some, their willingness to take the path of violent measures may be too frightening to accept in what used to be a status-quo city...