Life under U.S. asylum: One Hong Konger’s story 

Twenty-four-year-old Hong Kong native Frances Hui, a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, lives in the United States – a place she never planned to be.

“I had no plans to work in the United States or stay here,” she said. “The reason I left Hong Kong is because I was told by multiple sources I was a target under the National Security Law (NSL).”

Because she met with members of Congress, urging support for legislation affirming U.S. support for human rights and democracy in Hong Kong, she violated a key component of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) NSL: Chinese citizens, including Hong Kong ones, are forbidden from engaging with foreign governments.

The U.S. law, signed by President Trump in 2019, supported the PRC’s commitments to maintain Hong Kong’s government and rights, as they were before Great Britain returned the territory to the PRC, for 50 years, until 2047.

Today, the Hong Kong government is so concerned about Hui, it placed a $130,000 bounty on her, equivalent to about HK$1 million, for lobbying for the legislation that Trump signed.

“(The bounty) is an incentive for people around the world to harass us and send us threats,” Hui said. “Even before the bounty was issued, I received death threats and harassments online.”

Hui also coordinated rallies on behalf of Hong Kong’s democracy, as it existed under British rule, which made her a target of the territory’s government.

“With that background, I was told I would be affected under the NSL. I was told I should think about whether I wanted to stay, get arrested or leave Hong Kong,” she said. “I applied for asylum (to the United States).

She received it in six months, which, Hui said, “is uncommon.

“There are people who have applied for asylum and have been waiting for years – and still haven’t heard back,” she continued.

None of Hui’s anti-Hong Kong government activities happened back home.

“Organizations and businesses can also be under threat by the NSL,” she said. “It transcends citizenship status and borders. If someone criticizes the Hong Kong government, they’re a target.”

Hong Kong’s legislative council passed Article 23 in March, which, Hui says, places another layer on top of the NSL, and, as a result, she could be jailed for more than 20 years.

Posters for her arrest were put up throughout Hong Kong.

“I have friends who have taken pictures (of these posters),” she told SD METRO. “They’re not just at the airport, they’re also on government buildings, on bridges – everywhere. It sends a chilling message to people in Hong Kong.”

Hui said there’s a tradition in Hong Kong, where if someone doesn’t like another person, they hit their picture and curse them.

“I received videos of these things with my face on the picture,” she said.

In addition, Hui says, there’s so much fear, friends in Hong Kong have unfriended her on Facebook.

“They’re scared,” Hui said. “I don’t blame them.”

Returning to Hong Kong

Today, Hui lives in the Washington DC area and works for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation as its policy and advocacy coordinator.

She’d prefer to be in Hong Kong.

“I love the city,” Hui said when asked about her affection for Hong Kong. “It’s dazzling. If I had a choice, I would never have left.

“In fact, I didn’t know how much I loved Hong Kong until I left,” she added.

But there’s only one way she’s going back.

“The Chinese Communist Party has to go down,” Hui said. “Even if the Chinese government said, ‘Oh, we’re going to solve all the repression in Hong Kong. We’re going to revoke all the arrest warrants. Hong Kong can return to what it was before (the 1997 handover) and enjoy a high degree of autonomy, but still be part of us. They have to listen to us.’

“I wouldn’t trust that because China has never kept all of its promises. I would only go back if the Chinese Communist Party is no longer the ruling party,” she added.

Page can be reached at dpage@sandiegometro.com