Goodbye, Hong Kong: protesters seeking asylum abroad from national security law vow to fight on, but feel ‘survivor’s guilt’
- Australia, Britain top choices for Hongkongers in exile and trying to keep activism alive
- Western countries that accept those who flee have drawn-out, detailed steps to granting refugee status
This is the first of a four-part series on the impact of the national security law, one year after it was imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing on June 30, 2020. Natalie Wong speaks to protesters and politicians who sought asylum in Australia, Britain and the US because of the law, and the so-called survivor’s guilt they feel every day.
When Teddy* boarded a small speedboat in Hong Kong last year to start his 600km escape to Taiwan, he had no idea that within months, he would be in the United States seeking asylum.
Surviving the rough boat ride, he landed in Taiwan and applied through lawyers to stay, citing his fear of political persecution in Hong Kong. His plan was to start a new life on the self-ruled island as a civil engineer.
Taiwan authorities provided a flat for him and the others who had fled with him. They lay low, even cutting off contact with their families in Hong Kong.