Advertisement

'Hong Kong the new Berlin': Activist Joshua Wong discusses 'new Cold War' with Heiko Maas

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
'Hong Kong the new Berlin': Activist Joshua Wong discusses 'new Cold War' with Heiko Maas
Wong and Maas meeting in Berlin. Photo: DPA

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong has met Germany's foreign minister during a visit to Berlin as he carries abroad his call to support the growing pro-democracy movement in the former British colony.

Advertisement

Posting a photo of himself and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on his Twitter account, the 22-year-old said they spoke on the "protest situation and our cause to free election and democracy in HK".

The activist planned to hold talks with other German politicians during his visit to Berlin.

But there are no plans for Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet him, said her spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday.

Wong arrived late Monday after he was briefly detained in Hong Kong just before his departure to Germany following an error in his bail conditions from a previous detention.

He was among several prominent democracy advocates held late last month in a roundup by police as the semi-autonomous city reels from more than three months of unprecedented pro-democracy protests.

'Hong Kong is the new Berlin'

Germany has emerged as a country of refuge for a number of Chinese dissidents in recent years, including Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo.

In May, two former Hong Kong independence activists were granted refugee status in Germany in what is one of the first cases of dissenters from the enclave receiving such protection.

Bild daily reported that Wong turned up late at an event organized by the daily, but was able to meet Maas at the gathering.

In a brief speech at the event, Wong vowed to "protest until the day that we have free elections".

"If we are now in a new Cold War, Hong Kong is the new Berlin," he said, referring to the post-war split between communist East Berlin and the democratic West.

READ ALSO: 'You have experience of a dictatorial government': Hong Kong protester appeal to Merkel before China visit

"'Stand with Hong Kong' is much more than just a mere slogan, we urge the free world to stand together with us in resisting the autocratic Chinese regime," he added.

Wong was due to hold a public discussion on Wednesday evening at Humboldt University in Berlin and later travel to the United States.

Wong launched his career as an activist when he was just 12 years old and later became the poster child of the huge pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement" protests of 2014 that failed to win any concessions from Beijing.

He has previously been jailed for involvement in those protests.

'Disrespectful'

Yet Beijing slammed the meeting between Wong and Maas, saying it was "disrespectful" of China's sovereignty.

"It is extremely wrong for German media and politicians to attempt to tap into the anti-China separatist wave," said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing.

"It is disrespectful of China's sovereignty and an interference in China's internal affairs."

The activist's visit came on the heels of Merkel's trip to China, where she stressed Friday that the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong "must be guaranteed", after meeting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.

Ahead of her three-day visit to China, demonstrators in the semi-autonomous city appealed to the German chancellor to support them in her meetings with China's leadership.

Wong himself had written an open letter to Merkel, seeking her backing.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also