Hong Kong activist allowed to stay in UK after deportation threat

What the report says

BBC World News reports that former Hong Kong opposition leader Wu Chi-wai has been permitted to remain in the United Kingdom for six months after initially being stopped at the border. Wu told BBC Chinese he arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport last Wednesday, was held for almost 10 hours and was first denied entry. He said he was later informed he could stay for only a week before returning to the airport for deportation, but that the UK Border Force approved a standard six-month stay on Monday.

Wu, 63, previously led Hong Kong’s now-disbanded Democratic Party and was among the prominent pro-democracy figures prosecuted in the “Hong Kong 47” national security case. According to the BBC, he was released in June after more than five years in prison on subversion and other convictions. Wu said his wife and son had moved to the UK in 2022 and 2023, and that he intended to visit and reunite with them. He denied media reports that he planned to claim asylum.

Wu entered using a British National (Overseas) passport, a document held by many Hong Kong residents from before the 1997 handover. BBC noted that BNO passport holders are generally allowed to visit the UK without a visa for up to six months, and that a separate BNO visa route introduced in 2021 offers a pathway to longer-term settlement.

The Home Office told BBC Chinese it does not discuss individual cases but said the UK continues to support Hong Kong communities in Britain. Rights group Hong Kong Watch welcomed the decision, while Hong Kong authorities said they had received no request for assistance.