Malaysia Bars Entry to 2nd Hong Kong Activist
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Version 0 of 1. HONG KONG — Malaysia denied entry to a second political activist from Hong Kong on Friday, three days after the country’s police chief said that he put the student protest leader Joshua Wong on a blacklist for fear of harming the country and hurting its ties with China. Leung Kwok-hung, a member of Hong Kong’s legislature well known for his protests in and outside the city’s legislative chamber, was sent back to Hong Kong under the order of immigration officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday afternoon, according to a statement on his Facebook page. Like Mr. Wong, the 18-year-old leader of the student activist group Scholarism, Mr. Leung was scheduled to participate in events commemorating the 26th anniversary of the military crackdown on protesters in Beijing in 1989. “I know that the Malaysian government doesn’t like me; I’ve criticized the ruling government’s suppression of its opposition many times,” Mr. Leung said in a telephone interview before his departure to Malaysia. In 2011, Mr. Leung protested at the Malaysian Consulate in Hong Kong against the government’s crackdown on protests calling for electoral reform. He last visited Malaysia in November 2008 for an annual gathering of socialists. In another statement on his Facebook page, Mr. Leung asked that Hong Kong officials call the Malaysian authorities to let him enter the country. One of the Hong Kong officials, Lai Tung-kwok, the secretary for security, told reporters that Hong Kong authorities “respect and do not intervene with decisions made by immigration authorities in accordance with their laws.” Khalid Abu Bakar, the Malaysian police chief, told Agence France-Presse on Friday that Mr. Leung was not welcomed because he was a “troublemaker.” On Tuesday, he had told the news agency that Mr. Wong’s entry might harm the country’s security and hurt its ties with China. Mr. Khalid’s office confirmed that statement by telephone on Friday but would not answer further questions. Unable to enter Malaysia, Mr. Wong turned to video conferencing to address attendees in Penang on Tuesday evening. Prince Wong, a spokeswoman for Scholarism, entered Malaysia successfully on Thursday to participate in events in place of Joshua Wong. The organizer, the Malaysian Working Group on the 26th Anniversary of June 4, said that the government’s move is against freedom of speech. “We are merely inviting them to share their views on democratization in China, which is only an academic discussion,” said Ng Yap-hwa, a spokesman for the group. “This has nothing to do with national security.” |