Singapore, September 30: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law said on Monday that Singapore barred his entry over the weekend despite a valid visa, a move he suspects was politically motivated.
Law, who fled Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a sweeping National Security Law in 2020, said he was detained for four hours at Singapore’s airport on Saturday night before being told his entry was denied. He returned to San Francisco on Sunday after spending about 14 hours in the city-state.
“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,” Law said in a statement, referring to China by its official name, the People’s Republic of China. He declined further comment.
The 31-year-old activist, now based in London, said he had planned to attend a closed-door, invitation-only event in Singapore, without giving details. The country’s Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Law rose to prominence during Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Revolution student protests alongside Joshua Wong, who is now imprisoned. He was briefly elected to Hong Kong’s legislature in 2016 but was disqualified after a dispute over his oath-taking.
Beijing tightened control of the Chinese territory after mass protests in 2019, introducing a National Security Law that has since led to the imprisonment of dozens of opposition figures. Law left Hong Kong in 2020 and has since been accused by authorities of violating the law.
In 2023, Hong Kong police offered bounties of HK$1 million ($127,600) for information leading to the arrest of Law and other self-exiled activists.
