Hong Kong independence activist Wayne Chan has confirmed that he has fled the city as he faced charges for his political activities, adding that he expected other arrests to be made after the passing of a national security law Beijing is drafting for the city.

Chan, 30, was charged with unlawful assembly for a protest in Wan Chai on June 10 last year. His case was heard in January and he was allowed bail. Chan’s case was scheduled to be heard again in mid-July but he failed to report to the police earlier this month.

Chan, who found the Student Independence Union in 2018, published a 2,400-word article on his Facebook page saying that he expected many politicians to be arrested after the national security law was passed and that protesters would be accused of committing acts of terrorism.

“Hong Kong will face a historical collapse, and humanitarian crises will come one after another,” he wrote.

Under the upcoming national security law, offences of secession and subversion may lead to life imprisonment.

Chan said he chose to write the article now because it might be illegal to do so after the law was passed. He said in the article that the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed without the consent of the Hong Kong people and was therefore not in line with international laws, meaning that Hong Kong had the right to independence.

He said the city currently faced huge difficulties but he believed the international community would start to make China pay for its destruction of the world order. “This may be the darkest 10 years we will face,” he said, adding that activists should leave Hong Kong when the U.S. and the UK announces plans that would allow them to escape.

Chan apologized to his supporters, saying that he did not have the courage to fight for independence with death as the last resort. But he said that his departure from Hong Kong did not mean he had given up on the movement, as the road to independence had been paved. He believed he could come back one day to witness the historic moment of Hong Kong achieving full autonomy.

Click here for Chinese version.

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