Ex-Hong Kong lawmaker asks Europe to provide 'safe haven'

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist who is visiting Denmark urged European nations on Wednesday to allow protesters in Hong Kong "a safe haven from the terror” of China's Communist Party.

“The situation in Hong Kong is getting worse by the day and it is important that the world knows that Hong Kong is no longer a free city,” Ted Hui said in an email to The Associated Press.

Britain has extended residency rights for up to 3 million Hong Kongers eligible for British National Overseas passports, allowing them to live and work there for five years.

Britain also has followed the United States, Australia and Canada in suspending extradition agreements with Hong Kong, a city of 7.5 million people which became a special administrative region of China in 1997 after Britain returned control of the territory to Beijing, which promised it autonomy over local affairs for 50 years.

Hui arrived in Denmark on Tuesday “to change the Danish government’s stance,” according to Thomas Rohden, chairman of the Danish China Critical Society, which organized his trip. A former Hong Kong lawmaker, Hui was able to get his passport back from the government and a visa after receiving an invitation from Danish lawmakers.

“When I began in politics, I never dreamed that the day would come that I could be jailed but democracy is fragile, and it is duty of all democrats everywhere to stick together in times of crisis. I call upon European countries such as Denmark to follow in the footsteps of Great Britain and allow protesters in Hong Kong a safe haven from the terror of CCP,” he said.

“All politicians around the world should stand up for democracy together and face the realities of the situation in Hong Kong. If democracies do not stand together, we...