The pro-democracy activist hails the central government's 'gesture of goodwill'
Film director and pro-democracy activist John Shum Kin-fun has been issued a formal home-return permit, two months after being allowed to visit the mainland for the first time in 15 years.
Mr Shum said yesterday he was given a 10-year home-return permit earlier this month with the help of the Chief Executive's Office.
'It's a gesture of goodwill and openness shown by the central government,' he said, adding that he believed more people would get their home-return permits back in future.
He denied any political deal was involved in securing the document, saying he felt there had been no pressure during the process.
Mr Shum, who was banned from the mainland after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, paid a 10-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai in early July after receiving a one-off home-return permit.
He is a former standing committee member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, a group branded subversive by Beijing. Before July, his last visit to Beijing was in 1989 with other activists to help students in the pro-democracy movement.