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Singapore denied entry to Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, after he arrived in the city state on Saturday to attend a conference.
The political dissident and former Hong Kong lawmaker told the Financial Times that he was detained after landing on Saturday following a flight from San Francisco. The authorities questioned Law for several hours without explanation before informing him that he had been denied entry.
Law, who holds a UK-issued refugee passport, said he had been given a visa for Singapore three weeks before this trip.
“I attempted to go through immigration, but I was detained, despite having a valid visa to enter the country,” Law said.
“I was not told why I was detained. I was detained at the border for four hours before the ICA [Immigration & Checkpoints Authority] staff informed me that my entry had been denied. I was not given a reason.”
While in detention, Law, reached contacts who raised his case with the UK and US governments, according to people familiar with his situation. It is unclear if the governments contacted Singapore. After 14 hours, Law was put on a flight to San Francisco and arrived back on Sunday morning.
Law has lived in exile in the UK and US since fleeing Hong Kong in 2020 after Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory. Along with Joshua Wong, he was one of the founders of Demosisto, a pro-democracy opposition party.
Law and Wong were core student leaders of the Umbrella Movement, a peaceful months-long protest in central Hong Kong by tens of thousands of mainly college students demanding universal suffrage.
Hong Kong has cracked down on democracy activists since the Umbrella Movement, as Beijing expands its control over the former British territory. In 2023, it unveiled a HK$1mn (US$128,000) bounty for information leading to the arrest of Law and several other self-exiled democracy activists.
Wong has been in jail in Hong Kong for more than four years on national security charges that critics say are designed to silence opposition to Beijing.
“I was granted a visa, so I was legitimately expecting an entry,” said Law. “I think the decision to deny entry was political, although I am unsure whether external forces, such as the People’s Republic of China, are involved, directly or indirectly.”
His decision to travel to Singapore was risky, however, because the city state has an extradition treaty with Hong Kong.
“It is well known that successive [Hong Kong government] Chief Executives have cultivated good relations with the Singaporean government, with John Lee visiting in 2023,” said one former Hong Kong lawmaker. “All dissidents from Hong Kong usually avoid Singapore and other similar places.”
The case comes as China continues to pressure countries around the world that it accuses of facilitating dissident activities. When the US and UK criticised Hong Kong for putting the bounty on Law, Beijing accused them of “harbouring criminals”. The Chinese embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment about Law’s situation.
“The Chinese Communist party has made clear that it will pursue people it views as dissidents around the world and in the UK has even threatened and assaulted individuals,” said Tom Tugendhat, a British Conservative party MP who formerly served as minister of state for security.
The FT was unable to reach Singapore’s embassy in the US for comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment and the state department declined to comment.
Additional reporting by David Sheppard in London
