Hong Kong Watch Patrons in the UK raise alarm over visa refusals and deportation threat to Hong Kong political prisoners

Today, a coalition of Hong Kong Watch Patrons in the UK wrote to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, following the official refusal of entry into the UK to former Hong Kong lawmaker Wu Chi-wai. They urged the Home Office to ensure that the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) scheme does not exclude those it is designed to protect.

The letter cited the alarming report of the detention of Wu Chi-wai, former chairman of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party and one of the ‘Hong Kong 47’ imprisoned under the Hong Kong National Security Law, by Border Force at Heathrow Airport last week.

The signatories raised their deep concerns over the official refusal of entry of Wu, who has served a prison sentence of four years and five months following his conviction under the National Security Law due to his participation in an unofficial “primary election” in 2020. Although Wu has now entered the UK under temporary admission, he was officially refused and still faces the threat of deportation.

The letter also highlighted the recent increase of visa refusals for former Hong Kong political prisoners. The signatories urged the Home Office to review provisions on eligibility and suitability criteria of the BN(O) visa pathway, offer guidelines to UKVI caseworkers and Border Security officers on handling cases of those facing political persecution, and ensure genuine prisoners of conscience are not unfairly excluded from humanitarian schemes.

You can read the full letter here.

英國香港監察贊助人去信內相  提請關注香港政治犯簽證申請被拒及遣返威脅

因應前香港立法會議員胡志偉曾被英國正式拒絕入境事件，英國香港監察贊助人今日去信內政大臣馬曼婷（Shabana Mahmood），促請內政部確保BNO簽證計劃不會排除計劃旨在保護的人。

信中援引前香港民主黨主席、因《國家安全法》被囚禁的47人案被告胡志偉上週在希斯路機場被邊境人員扣留的報導，事件令人擔憂。

聯署人對胡志偉曾被正式拒絕入境深表關注。他因參與2020年民主派立法會初選，被判干犯《國安法》下的「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪，上月已服畢四年五個月監禁刑期。雖然胡志偉現已獲准臨時入境英國，但曾經被正式拒絕，仍然面臨遣返威脅。

信中亦指出，最近前香港政治犯簽證申請被拒絕的個案增加。聯署人促請內政部檢視有關BNO簽證途徑的資格和適合性準則的規定，向英國簽證暨移民署（UKVI）個案工作人員和邊境保安人員提供處理受政治迫害者個案的指引，並確保真正的良心犯不會被不公平地排除在人道主義計劃之外。

信件全文可在此處閱覽。

Photo: ID 77321776, Uk Border © Joe Ma, Dreamstime.com