A Hong Kong pro-independence activist seeks asylum in the UK after serving time over security law

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — An activist who advocated for Hong Kong independence and was imprisoned under its sweeping national security law has fled to Britain to seek political asylum. Tony Chung was among the first people convicted under the Beijing-imposed law introduced after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. He was found guilty of secession in 2020. Chunk detained in two Instagram posts on Friday how authorities pressured him after he was released from prison, including asking him to travel to mainland China. Hong Kong authorities didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The intimidation faced by Hong Kong dissidents like Chung reflects the drastic erosion of the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997.