Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law Denied Entry to Singapore, Deported to US

Nathan Law, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures, says Singapore detained and then deported him to the United States after denying him entry over the weekend.

Law, a former Hong Kong lawmaker who fled to the UK in 2020, said on social media he was stopped for four hours at Changi Airport on Saturday when arriving for a “closed-door, invitation-only event.” Despite holding a valid visa, he said officials informed him he was not permitted to enter the country and put him on a flight to San Francisco after about 14 hours in Singapore.

“I was granted a visa, so I was legitimately expecting an entry,” Law told Al Jazeera. “I think the decision to deny entry was political, although I am unsure whether external forces, such as the PRC, are involved, directly or indirectly.”

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed Law had been denied entry, saying in a statement that while he held a visa, “a visa holder is still subject to further checks at point of entry.” It added that allowing Law into Singapore “would not have been in the country’s national interests.”

Law, co-founder of the now-defunct Demosisto party, rose to prominence as a student leader during Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement and later became one of the youngest lawmakers elected to the city’s legislature. He left after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020, which effectively criminalised dissent and dismantled the city’s opposition movement.

Hong Kong authorities issued arrest warrants for Law and seven other activists in 2023 under provisions that allow prosecution for acts committed overseas.

Once regarded as a semi-autonomous city with a vibrant civil society, Hong Kong has undergone a dramatic crackdown since 2020: opposition parties have been eliminated, critical media outlets shuttered, and public vigils for events such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre banned.

Beijing and the Hong Kong government defend the national security law as necessary to restore order after the 2019 protests, which they describe as violent and foreign-backed.