a 15 year old girl is believed to have
become
the youngest ever hong kong protester to
seek asylum in the united kingdom
called aurora she applied for asylum
last week
she joins a growing list of hong kong
pro-democracy activists
fleeing the territory in the wake of
beijing's increased crackdown on
dissidents
dw correspondent phoebe kong met aurora
before she traveled to the uk
here's her story
aged 15 junior high school student
aurora
is packing for a trip of no return
it will be her first time traveling
alone this frog plushie
the icon of last year protest and a gift
from her boyfriend
will be her only companion on her
journey to the uk
where she is seeking political asylum
once a shelter for political dissidence
from mainland china
hong kong no longer seems safe even for
locals
aurora is among the city's youngest
exiles the teenage protester was
arrested in may
and has been living in fear ever since
sometimes i feel like being tailed i'm
terrified of knocks on the door
as police may come after me
all my teammates during protests are
charged for serious offenses
like rioting and arson
i'm afraid i'll be the next one someday
my boyfriend's identity makes me feel
more insecure
aurora's boyfriend zhang chi kim was the
first protester shot by police with a
live bullet last year
he is now facing three criminal charges
the 19 year old was among a group of
five
activists who made a failed bid for
asylum and assistance
at the u.s consulate in hong kong this
october
one of them former leader of a
pro-independence group tongli zhong
was arrested before he could reach the
consulate gate
and prosecuted under the national
security law
sources told dw that the other four
activists including zhang chi king
were given advanced permission to enter
the consulate compound
but all were turned away after a brief
stay without specific reason
although one of them is a u.s citizen
the u.s consulate general in hong kong
said is unable to comment
due to privacy issues
we are worried about unfair trials and
treatment in custody
the three protest related charges tsang
chi kin is facing
may put him behind bars for six to seven
years
he was shocked and hopeless of being
rejected by the consulate
hong kong authorities are trying every
means to silence the dissidents
we are even more fearful under the
security law
the couple haven't seen each other in
weeks because of safety concerns
aurora regrets having to leave without
saying goodbye to most of her friends
and family
but she doesn't regret how her activism
has affected her life
my generation is losing our freedoms day
by day
that's why i don't see my future seeking
asylum may force myself into exile for
the rest of my life
which makes me upset and anxious but
sacrifices have to be made
it's still worth fighting despite
repression
otherwise hong kong might be dead a lot
sooner
aurora has now arrived in the uk where
it will take 6 to 10 months to evaluate
her asylum application
2020 marks the start of a new political
era in hong
kong but a generation of exiles like
aurora
hope they can sustain the activism from
afar
and someone who knows all about
sustaining that activism is
nathan law a former hong kong lawmaker
in exile
he joins me now from london nathan
a 15 year old applying for asylum
has hong kong failed its young people
well the news is definitely devastating
because um just put you in her shoes uh
15 years ago um trying to protect
uh the city's freedom but end up living
in in exile and has to apply asylum in
another country
is a devastating news and experience for
her
and it also shows that um the city
indeed failed
its young people and and people in
general because um
well we were just fighting for democracy
and autonomy but the city's um judiciary
system
and also the government put all the
political persecutions on these freedom
fighters
yes indeed the political situation is
really bad
and i think the 15 year old girl is
feeling imminent danger and make that
unfavorable choice
now the uk itself where you are has made
it possible for
hong kongers who were born before 1997
the year of the handover
a path to british citizenship but that
does not include people like aurora who
were born
after 1997. do you think the uk
government needs to rethink its policy
definitely we've been in close contact
with the uk government and
has been proposing that the scheme
should include
um individuals who were born after 1997
mostly aged from 18 to 23
and they are also in the main part of
the protest
um to be able to have a pathway to
citizenship
in the uk so um indeed we are very
grateful for the bno scheme
which allows uh three million eligible
piano holders to come to the uk
but i think that is a void in the scheme
and
we could work hard to kind of um make
all the people in need
have the opportunity to go to a free
place
as they wish how confident are you in
your dealings with the uk government
that the government is actually thinking
of changing this policy
i think the government is considering of
course
there are lots of factors that the
government has to consider
and we appreciate that because um well
it's a big policy
so there must be a lot of cooperation
between departments
and a lot of policy consideration but i
think the government is indeed
rethinking about the policy and i really
do hope that we
can get a good news in the upcoming
future
now besides aurora there are many other
young protesters who are also fleeing
hong kong and seeking asylum
in countries like germany canada and the
united states
how open have you found countries to
granting asylum to hong kong activists
i think it's quite early to say we've
got cases
in germany and canada and some other
places um but uh normally the asylum
seeking procedure takes
months to years so for now we don't have
a massive amount of cases
for a good review or
adequate reference um but i think in
general
um the the reception of the countries
arises uh with the exposure of hong
kong's protest
and for hong kong people we've got
better documentation etc
so i think um indeed there are many
countries improving
their policy towards hong kong people
who fled for example in the us
and i hope that uh by communicating with
them
and enhancing the efficiency of the
asylum seeking process
that we can let these countries to have
a better understanding of what's
happening in hong kong
and benefit those who have left nathan
one final question
what is it like to leave one's life
behind
where one grew up and never be able to
go back again
for me i left the city at the age of 27
um
i've left it for five to six months
but occasionally i i've been thinking
about home i've been thinking about
staying with my parents and my families
having dinner together so it's
definitely devastating and
how broken when you
think of um these memories and and you
realize that you are
enabled to go back possibly in decades
times or even for
a longer timeframe so i think it's
definitely a psychological
pain for a lot of people and um
it's difficult but i think for us we
have greater course uh we we are
pursuing a course that
is larger than ourselves and it's for
the people of hong kong for their basic
rights
so i think um for me i i never regret
and i think most of the others uh share
the same feeling
law thank you very much for speaking to
us