UK Grants Wu Chi-wai 6-Month Stay After 10-Hour Heathrow Detention
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 28
UK Grants Wu Chi-wai 6-Month Stay After 10-Hour Heathrow Detention
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 28
Summary
Monday's reversal let former Hong Kong opposition leader Wu Chi-wai enter Britain for a standard six-month stay after Border Force had first refused him entry, then told him he could remain only one week before deportation.
Wu, 63, said he traveled on a British National Overseas passport to reunite with his wife and son after more than five years in prison, and denied reports he planned to seek political asylum.
Border officials had questioned whether he was a genuine visitor despite, Wu said, prior assurances from British consular staff in Hong Kong that his criminal record and itinerary would not block entry.
Hong Kong Watch welcomed the decision, saying Wu should never have faced removal back to Hong Kong, where he was jailed as one of the "Hong Kong 47" in the national security crackdown.
The case lands amid Britain's broader BNO policy shift: more than 230,000 Hong Kongers have received visas and nearly 170,000 have relocated to the UK since 2021.