A teacher who was injured during pro-democracy demonstrations last year says he has no plans to leave Hong Kong despite the increasing likelihood that he will face criminal charges.

Raymond Yeung, 30, was blinded in his right eye by an alleged police projectile during a protest in June 2019. He was arrested on suspicion of rioting but was later released unconditionally. He resigned from his job this year after his school refused to extend his contract.

In a Facebook post, Yeung said he has held many conversations in recent months about whether to remain in Hong Kong, and hopes to make up his mind on the issue. The post has received over a thousand likes on social media.

Yeung told Apple Daily that he had no plans to leave Hong Kong.

“It is human nature to seek personal safety and liberty. And undeniably, the situation in Hong Kong is worsening quickly … it is rational to look for an environment where one can be free from fear,” he wrote on Sunday.

There are “definite risks” facing political activists who stay in Hong Kong, Yeung wrote, adding that he has acquaintances who were jailed or forced to leave the city.

“I have not yet been targeted in political reprisals … but authorities have gathered more evidence that I participated in protests on June 12, 2019. It would ‘make sense’ for them to lay criminal charges against me,” he wrote.

In his post, Yeung said he will act in accordance with his values, and that he wanted to make the decision based on what is best for himself.

“To be frank, I have done my duty in the education sector and I don’t owe Hong Kong anything. I also won’t say that I am leaving Hong Kong out of some noble cause,” he said.

Yeung concluded by saying he knew the risks and made his choice. “In the next two decades, even if I were imprisoned in cells big and small, I hope to always have a smile on my face.”

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