LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) – A former Hong Kong opposition leader has been granted permission to remain in Britain with his family for six months after the authorities withdrew an order limiting his stay to one week, his lawyer said on Monday.
Wu Chi-Wai, a former leader of the now-defunct Democratic Party, arrived in Britain last week to reunite with his wife and son after he was released from prison in June, where he had served a sentence under China’s national security law.
Britain eased immigration rules for Hong Kong residents after Beijing imposed the sweeping security law in 2020. But when Wu arrived last Wednesday, he was told he could stay for only one week and his passport was retained by authorities.
A person familiar with the matter said Wu had since been informed he could remain in Britain and he would not have to leave on Wednesday. His lawyer, Paul Harris, told Reuters that Wu had been granted permission to stay for six months as a visitor.
Britain’s interior ministry declined to comment on an individual case, saying only that it remained fully committed to the Hong Kong community in Britain.
Wu’s treatment had sparked concern among members of Hong Kong’s community in Britain.
Britain’s colonial ties to Hong Kong mean many families have close links to relatives who settled there before the 1997 handover to China.
In February, the British government estimated that 170,000 Hong Kong residents had moved to Britain since 2021 under relaxed visa rules, with a further 26,000 expected over the next five years.
(Reporting by Kate Holton in London and Greg Torode in Hong Kong. Editing by Hugh Lawson and Mark Potter)
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