“I have already left Hong Kong and continue the advocacy work on the international level. Based on risk assessment, I shall not reveal too much about my personal whereabouts and situation now”, Law said in a message to journalists.
Law is a one-time student leader and local legislator who spent time in prison after 2014’s “Umbrella Protests”. In 2016, he argued that the former British colony must be allowed a referendum on its future. He has said he does not want Hong Kong to become “just another Chinese city”.
The new law aims to tackle subversion, terrorism, separatism and collusion with foreign forces, with punishments of up to life in prison.
Critics of the law say it effectively ends freedom of speech, and that it will be used to eliminate dissent and tighten Beijing’s control. After China’s parliament passed the law on Wednesday, Hong Kong police made more than 180 arrests for illegal assembly and other offences, including violations of the new law.
Law used the phrase “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times”, which was chanted by huge crowds and has become a symbol of the pro-democracy protests. On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s government has announced that the slogan is illegal, because it “contains the indications of Hong Kong independence, or alienating Hong Kong from China, or changing its legal status, or subverting the state”.
