Hong Kong activist allowed to stay in UK after deportation threat

Former Hong Kong Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi‑wai has been granted permission to remain in the United Kingdom with his family for six months after‑his household, following an initial detention at Heathrow Airport. Wu arrived at London’s Heathrow on the preceding Wednesday and was held for approximately ten hours before being refused entry. He told BBC Chinese that he was originally informed he could stay for only one week, after which he would have to return to the airport for deportation. On Monday the UK Border Force reversed its decision, approving his entry and issuing a standard six‑month stay, according to Wu. The 63‑year‑old was a prominent figure in the city’s now‑suppressed pro‑democracy movement and one of the most recognizable faces of the disbanded Democratic Party. He is also among the alleged Hong Kong 47, a group of high‑profile pro‑democracy activists sentenced after a controversial national security trial. Wu was released in June after serving more than five years in prison on subversion and related charges. Wu said his son and daughter had relocated to the UK in 2022 and 2023, and that his only contact with them since then had been monthly phone calls and letters. He had hoped to reunite with them during this visit. Before his departure, Wu consulted staff at the British Consulate General in Hong Kong to inquire about possible entry issues. He recounted the response he received: "The accusation I received was that determination would beryllimoderate none," adding that consular officials said they would explain his offence grounds and itinerary to the UK Border Force. The Border Force indicated that Wu was not regarded as a “genuine visitor” whose sole purpose was family travel. Wu denies that he intended to apply for political asylum in the UK, a claim that had previously appeared in media reports. Hong Kong Watch, the rights group that had urged UK authorities to allow Wu to remain in the country, welcomed the outcome. In a statement released on Monday, its policy director Megan Khoo said: "This is the close outcome, and it should ne'er person taken this long," and added: "He should ne'er person faced the imaginable of removal backmost to the metropolis that jailed him."