Hong Kong activists who sought shelter in US consulate follow previous flight bids that threatened to derail US-China relations
- The incident is another diplomatic ‘hot potato’ and follows a string of previous incidents involving US missions on the mainland
- Previous figures to seek shelter include a Tiananmen dissident, a campaigning blind lawyer and a ‘thuggish enforcer’ for fallen party boss Bo Xilai
The attempt by four Hong Kong activists to seek asylum in the city’s US consulate follows a string of previous attempts by mainland activists to seek sanctuary in US diplomatic missions.
Tuesday’s attempt, first reported by the South China Morning Post, comes at a time of heightened US-China tensions and has been described as a “hot potato” in the run-up to the US presidential election. Previous asylum attempts threatened to become tipping points in the two countries’ relationship.
Fang, an expelled Communist Party member, was one of China’s most outspoken dissidents. Earlier that year, the then 53-year old published an open letter to China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, calling for the release of political prisoners and was seen as an inspiration to the student movement that led the mass protests in the heart of Beijing.
Media reports at the time said he agreed to leave the embassy after his first meeting with American diplomats because they were worried that letting him stay would harm the protest movement and would help the government’s argument that they had been influenced by the US.
