A pro-democracy campaigner who fled Hong Kong has been denied entry to Singapore despite being granted a visa, with the city-state saying his presence “would not be in national interests”.
Nathan Law, who lives in exile in the UK, said he arrived in Singapore on Saturday to attend a “closed-door, invitation-only” conference but was detained at the border for four hours.
“I was not asked questions and they did not give reason for the denial,” he told the BBC.
Mr Law is wanted by Hong Kong authorities who have accused him of endangering national security, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs noted.
Singapore has an extradition treaty with Hong Kong.
“Mr Law’s entry into and presence in the country would not be in Singapore’s national interests,” said the ministry’s spokesman in response to queries from the BBC.
“A visa holder is still subject to further checks at point of entry into the country. That is what happened with Nathan Law,” he said, adding that Mr Law was referred for “questioning, and immigration and security assessment” after he landed.
Singapore is known to be cautious about foreign politics. In a statement issued last year, the government said it “takes a clear and strong stand against the importation of politics of other countries into Singapore”.
In a statement, Mr Law said he believes the denial of entry was for “political” reasons. “I am unsure whether external forces, such as the PRC (People’s Republic of China), are involved, directly or indirectly,” he said.
Mr Law said he applied for a visa that would have allowed him a “one-time entry for a few days”, and that it was approved three weeks before his departure. He said he holds a UK Refugee Travel Document.
On Sunday, the activist was put on the earliest flight back to San Francisco, where he initially departed from.
The organisers of the event he was due to attend have declined to comment to the BBC.
Mr Law, a former Hong Kong legislator, is one of the most prominent figures in the city’s pro-democracy movement, fled the city in 2020 after China imposed a sweeping national security law which targets secession, subversion and terrorism with punishments of up to life in prison.
In 2021, he was granted asylum in the UK.
Hong Kong authorities have offered rewards of HK$1m ($128,000; £95,000) for information that can help them arrest Mr Law and other pro-democracy activists.
This is not the first incident Singapore authorities have taken action regarding Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.
In 2019, the city-state fined a Singaporean activist for holding an online forum several years prior that featured prominent activist Joshua Wong speaking in a teleconference call.
