Baggio Leung states threats to personal basic safety in Hong Kong compelled him into political asylum in US

Baggio Leung is presently in the US. Image: Handout

Previous Hong Kong lawmaker Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-dangle has explained he is in search of political asylum in the United States for the reason that of threats to personalized safety after “remaining tailed by unknown brokers” for months.

Now in Washington, Leung, who is the newest opposition figure from the town to go into exile, vowed to sustain very last year’s anti-authorities motion by lobbying the Biden administration to extend sanctions to the city’s money procedure, outside of latest steps targeting officials connected to the Beijing-imposed countrywide safety regulation.

At an on-line press meeting on Saturday early morning, Leung claimed surveillance carried out by “unknown brokers” considering that he was released from jail in late September brought about him to prevent likely home and afterwards prompted him to flee.

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“I was adopted by a lot more than 10 simple-dresses officers given that the very first working day when I was unveiled from jail. Often, they tailed me all the way to my home … I had a emotion that those people unknown brokers have been from law enforcement,” Leung explained from the US.

He was jailed in September for storming the Legislative Council chamber 4 several years back.

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Leung at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in September. Photo: Winson Wong

Leung stated the surveillance on him “implied that I am on the radar of the Hong Kong govt”, and made him sense unsafe in the metropolis, “especially under the obscure national protection regulation when law enforcement have been granted sweeping new powers”.

On Friday evening when Haven Aid, an abroad coalition started by Hong Kong activists in exile, announced Leung’s plan to search for asylum in the US, the previous lawmaker, in a Fb post, also declared “the severance of all ties” with his family in Hong Kong and stop localist team Youngspiration.

Leung, 34, was among 6 lawmakers disqualified by a court docket around incorrect oath-having during a swearing-in ceremony in 2016 for freshly elected legislators. In September, he dropped an attraction and was sentenced more than pressured entry into Legco 4 many years ago.

On Saturday, Leung said he satisfied US lawmakers during the nearly two months upon his arrival in Washington, and hoped to meet advisers of President-elect Joe Biden to “sustain the momentum of the bipartisan consensus” on sanctioning China in excess of its steps on the money hub.

He explained earlier US sanctions that lower off senior mainland Chinese and town officers from the worldwide banking procedure were significantly from sufficient.

“Sanctions against (Main Govt) Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor can’t stop law enforcement brutality and political suppression, as she can just keep on to stockpile hard cash at dwelling,” he explained. “The US can future focus on Hong Kong’s economical technique, which has been regarded as China’s lifeline, and get condition leaders back to the negotiating desk.”

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Leung is calling for the US to impose sanctions on Hong Kong’s financial procedure. Image: Winson Wong

A single of the moves Leung urged the US to impose centred on cutting off Hong Kong banks’ entry to the SWIFT economical messaging service, or Culture for Globally Interbank Economic Telecommunication, a most important community utilized by banking institutions globally to make transactions.

A report from the Financial institution of China introduced in July proposed China should prepare for opportunity sanctions by escalating the use of its have economic messaging network, the Cross-Border Interbank Payment Method (CIPS), for transactions.

It is a felony offence underneath the countrywide protection law enacted on June 30 for any individual to “impose sanctions or blockade, or have interaction in other hostile pursuits” against Hong Kong or China.

Expecting himself to be focused under the security regulation which has a achieve beyond Hong Kong, Leung extra he would also advocate lifeboat policies to help Hongkongers who faced political persecution, specifically all those born right after 1997 who were not entitled to British National (Abroad) position, to request asylum in the US.

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Hundreds of activists march to the British consulate in Admiralty, Hong Kong, final 12 months. Image: Nora Tam

Britain previously declared it had available Hongkongers with BN(O) position, as very well as their close family members customers, a pathway to entire citizenship by confirming their proper to work or research in the region for up to 5 yrs.

The Hong Kong legislature had requested the courts to declare Leung bankrupt, soon after he disregarded repeated requests to repay about HK$930,000 (US$120,000) in financial debt. He had not coated salary and cash granted to lawmakers to set up workplaces after obtaining elected.

Leung admitted he also did not repay about HK$5 million in lawful charges arising from his prior scenarios. He had been relying on income with all his bank accounts frozen due to the fact 2016, he added.

A thirty day period immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, on November 2 that 12 months, Leung and fellow disqualified lawmaker Yau Wai-ching stormed a council conference in an try to retake their oaths.

Separately, former opposition lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung fled Hong Kong earlier this thirty day period and declared he was going into self-imposed exile in Britain. Hui was out on bail awaiting demo over prices stemming from last year’s anti-authorities protests.

Haven Assistance’s co-founders are former detained British consulate worker Simon Cheng Male-kit, notable scholar activist Brian Leung Kai-ping, bookseller Lam Wing-kee and pro-independence activist Ray Wong Toi-yeung, who was granted political asylum by Berlin in 2018.

When requested about accusations by Leung he experienced been tailed by unidentified brokers, a police spokeswoman requested the community to “make a report at the closest police station or dial ‘999’ as before long as feasible” if they acquired of or witnessed any criminal offense.

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This post originally appeared on the South China Early morning Post (www.scmp.com), the primary information media reporting on China and Asia.

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