By Jessie Pang and Lewis Jackson
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) -Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui has been granted asylum in Australia, the former lawmaker said in a Facebook post on Saturday, more than four years after he left Hong Kong where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Hui said he received written notice from the Australian Department of Home Affairs on Friday approving his claim and that his wife, children and parents were also granted visas.
“When people around me say ‘congratulations’ to me, although I politely thank them, I can’t help but feel sad in my heart. How to congratulate a political refugee who misses his hometown?” he said in the Facebook post.
“If it weren’t for political persecution, I would never have thought of living in a foreign land. Immigrants can always return to their hometowns to visit relatives at any time; Exiles have no home.”
The Home Affairs Department did not immediately respond to emailed questions sent after business hours.
The Hong Kong government and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the decision.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Beijing last month as part of his administration’s years-long push to improve ties with China.
A former Democratic Party lawmaker, Hui left Hong Kong late 2020 after facing criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
In 2023 Hong Kong accused him and seven others of national security offences, including incitement to secession, and put HK$1 million ($127,782) bounties on their heads.
Australia said it was disappointed by the decision at the time and concerned about the law.
Pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai is currently on trial in Hong Kong on charges related to a national security law imposed by Beijing and alleged sedition.
($1 = 7.8258 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Beijing and Jessie Pang in Hong Kong. Editing by Jane Merriman)
