Activists flee HK for refuge in the West

BERLIN, Oct 25 (New York Times): A group of Hong Kong activists who have been granted asylum in the United States, Canada and Germany in recent weeks are the latest catalyst for deteriorating relations between China and the West.

Western leaders have asserted that they will stand up for human rights in Hong Kong, while Chinese officials have rebuked the countries for what they called interference in Beijing's affairs.

The protesters' newly conferred status has made clear how profoundly Hong Kong has changed since China imposed a tough new security law this summer.

For decades, the city had been a place of shelter for people escaping war, famine and political oppression in mainland China. Now the semiautonomous city has become a source of asylum seekers.

"The United States is a country that allows us freedom," said Vicky Xiao, a 20-year-old university student from Hong Kong who is in California and seeking asylum in America.