Fugitive ex-Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, who was self-exiled in Britain after fleeing criminal charges in the city, has revealed that he has moved to Australia.
Hui announced on his Facebook page that he arrived in Australia early on Tuesday to continue his lobbying work, without specifying his location.
The former opposition legislator said he was in the country on a tourist visa and thanked the authorities there for exempting him from strict Covid-19 entry restrictions, adding he had started 14 days of compulsory quarantine.
In his social media post, Hui also expressed his gratitude to the Australian government for coordinating the flight arrangements. But he said he had not applied for asylum and that doing so would be his last option.
“Although there are many Hongkongers living and studying in Australia, there are relatively few Hong Kong political leaders who are in exile here and are engaged in lobbying work. This is one of the reasons why I decided to move to Australia,” Hui said.
He also pointed out that Australia and neighbouring New Zealand were often engaged in disagreements and spats with China on issues such as democracy, freedom and international trade.
Australia suspended its extradition agreement with Hong Kong in July last year, saying it was “deeply concerned” about Beijing’s imposition of the national security law on the city.
The 38-year-old former lawmaker fled to Britain while out on bail late last year as he faced a raft of charges tied to the anti-government protests that broke out in Hong Kong in 2019.
While in Britain, Hui reported that his bank accounts at HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China were frozen. He earlier urged British authorities to impose sanctions on banking giant HSBC for freezing credit cards and savings accounts belonging to him and his family due to “political considerations”.
Hui first left Hong Kong for Denmark on November 30, supposedly to attend climate change meetings in the capital Copenhagen. The ruse had helped him to secure court approval to leave Hong Kong while awaiting trial.
Declaring himself in self-exile, Hui spent five days in the Scandinavian country before flying to London, provoking a strong response from Beijing.

By Kathleen Magramo in SCMP, Mar 9, 2021
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3124624/wanted-former-hong-kong-lawmaker-ted-hui-reveals-move