Fugitive Hong Kong ex-lawmaker Nathan Law blames West for failing to stand up to China, warns Hong Kong now ‘police state’

Fear of losing access to the world’s biggest market has prevented liberal democracies from standing up to China, fugitive Hong Kong activist Nathan Law Kwun-chung has told world leaders at a summit, warning the city has become a “police state”.

In a pre-recorded speech delivered at the virtual “Summit for Democracy” held by Washington on Friday, Law urged attendees to learn from his “painful story” of being in Beijing’s cross hairs.

“My experience embodies a prime example of how a city, once believed to be the freest in Asia, can deteriorate into an authoritarian police state right in front of our eyes,” he said. “I have lived through it. For me democracy backsliding is not an abstract theory but a personal and painful story.”

Law, who is wanted by police for allegedly violating the national security law after leaving the city, also urged liberal governments to work together to show that “democracy politics can deliver real results”.

In a statement issued after the speech, Beijing’s foreign affairs office in Hong Kong slammed Law as a “criminal suspect”. It accused him of preaching independence rather than democracy, inciting illegal assemblies, colluding with external forces, and seeking to discredit the city and the nation.