SINGAPORE/BEIJING: An overseas Hong Kong activist was refused entry to Singapore as his presence would not be in the country’s national interest, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday (Sep 29).
In response to CNA queries, MHA said that Nathan Law arrived at Changi Airport from San Francisco on Saturday and was referred for questioning, immigration and security assessment. He was subsequently denied entry and placed on the earliest flight back to San Francisco on Sunday.
Law is a Hong Kong political activist who fled the city in 2020. The Hong Kong Police have issued a warrant of arrest against him for offences under their National Security Law, said MHA.
“Law’s entry into and presence in the country would not be in Singapore’s national interests,” the ministry added.
“A visa holder is still subject to further checks at point of entry into the country. That is what happened with Nathan Law.”
A report by the Associated Press news agency quoted Law as saying he was detained at Changi Airport on Saturday night and told four hours later that his entry had been denied. He was going to attend a closed-door, invitation-only event, he said in a statement, without elaborating.
Law, who is based in London, is one of a number of activists who have fled Hong Kong in recent years after the adoption of a National Security Law that has thrown others in prison.
He said he had received a visa from Singapore to attend the event and departed on a flight from San Francisco. No reason was given for the denial, he said, and he boarded a plane back to San Francisco on Sunday after about 14 hours in Singapore.
“I think the decision to deny my entry was political, although I am unsure whether external forces, such as the PRC, are involved, directly or indirectly,” his statement said, referring to China by the acronym for its official name, the People’s Republic of China.
Hong Kong is a Chinese territory, but has its own laws and regulations. The central government in Beijing cracked down after massive anti-government protests in 2019, imposing a National Security Law on Hong Kong the following year.
Law rose to prominence as a student leader of the pro-democracy Umbrella Revolution in 2014 along with Joshua Wong, who is imprisoned in Hong Kong.
In 2023, Hong Kong police offered rewards of HK$1 million (US$127,600) for information leading to the arrest of Law and other self-exiled activists for National Security Law violations.
Law was elected to the legislature in 2016 but was disqualified after he raised his tone while swearing allegiance to China during the oath of office, making it sound like a question.
