Pro-democracy Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki was denied entry to Macau last Saturday after attempting to enter the sister SAR to celebrate his wedding anniversary.
Kwok is the latest Hong Kong activist to be denied entry. Lawmakers Kenneth Leung, Andrew Wan and Ray Chan were among the others barred from entry this year. Leung, however, was able to enter China for an official tour just days before trying to enter Macau.
Kwok left for Macau on Saturday after attending a march mourning the late Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. He says he intended to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his marriage.
He was stopped at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal by Macanese immigration authorities and was barred from entering citing threats to Macau’s internal security, the same reason given to other lawmakers.
Kwok said his trips to Macau were always recreational and he has never conducted any official or non-official events in the Special Administrative Region.
“This is extremely ridiculous,” he said.
“This is a very serious accusation. I am a democratically elected lawmaker – I have a certain constitutional position as stipulated by the Basic Law. What Macau has done to Hong Kong lawmakers is intolerable.”
He asked Chief Executive Carrie Lam to demand Macau explain and prove how he and others caused a security threat. He asked Lam to explain if the Hong Kong government knew they would be denied entry before it occurred, and if the Macau government kept a “blacklist.”
He also asked Lam to take the incident seriously and defend Hong Kong’s constitutional position.
“This is not just about me, it is a slap in Hong Kong’s face,” he said. “If Carrie Lam does not want to be seen as Leung Chun-ying 2.0… she must demand a response from Macau.”
Kwok condemned Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui for the action. He questioned whether Beijing asked Macau to deny him entry because of his pro-democracy stance.
Other pro-democracy activists were ejected from Macau in May – several hours after successfully entering as tourists – when state leader Zhang Dejiang was visiting the region.
In late June, two pro-democracy New Macau Association activists were barred from entering Hong Kong just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit.
