A 15-year-old girl is seeking political asylum in the UK, Apple Daily reported, making her the youngest known Hong Kong protestor to have gone into exile.
Friends of Hong Kong, a London-based group that aids Hongkongers applying for asylum in the UK, said on Monday that the teenager felt unsafe in Hong Kong and believed she was being followed.
The group said it would be in contact with the UK government to assist her. “We will keep her situation updated, provide her options and professional recommendations for her future in the UK,” it added.
The girl, who goes by the alias Aurora, told Apple Daily that she had “no choice” but to leave Hong Kong.
“If I continue to stay in Hong Kong, the situation will only become more and more dangerous. I can only wait for my death and wait for the police to get even with me,” she said, adding that she was being followed by unknown individuals in Hong Kong.
According to Apple Daily, Aurora is the girlfriend of Tsang Chi-kin, a teenager who was shot in the chest by police during a protest in Tsuen Wan on Oct. 1 last year. Tsang has been charged with rioting and assaulting police.
Aurora has also been arrested for her role in the protests, but escaped charges as she is not yet 16, Apple Daily reported.
She is believed to be the youngest Hong Kong protester to seek asylum abroad.
Aurora’s exile is the latest in a string of cases relating to protesters, activists and lawmakers fleeing the city.
Last month, former opposition legislator Ted Hui left for the UK with his family. Hui, who faced nine protest-related charges in Hong Kong, said he would go into exile in the UK but would not apply for asylum.
Another activist group, Haven Assistance, said last Friday that ex-lawmaker Sixtus Baggio Leung had arrived in the US, where he is seeking political asylum. Leung wrote on Facebook that he had cut ties with his family.
