Paladin Cheng, a 37-year-old activist, established himself as a supporter of Hong Kong independence in the summer of 2014, when he made his own pro-independence flags and banners.
He continued with his activism in his spare time since then, while also holding down a full-time job in sales.
“Every time we go out to protest, I will bring this flag and wear sunglasses. The sunglasses are to protect myself, people around me and my family,” he told Reuters in his rooftop flat in an industrial neighbourhood, which he shares with his dog and cat. “I can’t enter China because of political reasons. If I go there, I might not be able to come back.”
Like other activists holding fringe views, Cheng says he has been subjected to different kinds of harassment in his daily life, including frequent phone calls from the police, and triads attempting to stop him from leaving his house on protest days.
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Speaking to Reuters, he expressed fears the looming extradition law could result in activists eventually being sent to mainland prisons for their political views, where he fears they may be subjected to torture or other human rights abuses.
Some Hong Kong independence activists say they won’t be cowed by a proposed extradition law that would allow individuals to be sent for trial in mainland China, but some have already fled the city saying they won’t come back given the risks.
The government wants the bill, which would allow case-by-case transfers of individuals to countries with no prior agreements including mainland China, to be passed by Hong Kong’s legislative council by the summer.
Baggio Leung, now 32, has been seen by many as the poster boy for Hong Kong independence after a showdown in the city’s Legislative Council in 2016. After being elected into the city’s legislature on an activist platform, he was barred from taking his seat after refusing to swear allegiance to China, and unfurling a banner reading “Hong Kong is not China.”
He told Reuters he joined the so-called “localist” camp – which includes activists advocating for Hong Kong to become a nation state – after what he perceived as the failure of the city’s 2014 Umbrella Movement to bring about political change and democratic reforms by traditional means such as elections.
“The atmosphere was really bad”, he said. “And up to today, nothing has changed. Many of my friends have been harassed, imprisoned, or forced into exile.”
The list of independence activists claiming government harassment now extends to two young Hongkongers who have been granted political asylum in Germany.
Ray Wong, 25, and Alan Li, 27, two former leaders of independence group “Hong Kong Indigenous” were granted political asylum in Germany after skipping bail for rioting charges from a so-called “Fishball Revolution” in 2016.
The Hong Kong government has repeatedly stressed that the extradition law won’t be used for political offences and that safeguards such as court oversight over extradition requests would ensure human rights are upheld.
Nevertheless, the Hong Kong Bar Association, business groups such as the American Chamber of Commerce, and several foreign governments, including the U.S., have voiced concerns about the changes undermining Hong Kong’s rule of law.
Story: Reuters