Hong Kong. Photo:VCG

It's futile to evade legal responsibility and secessionists will be held accountable in accordance of law, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, after a former leader of a Hong Kong secessionists group said Thursday that he had fled Hong Kong to seek asylum in the UK.

Tony Chung, 22, was founder of the student group Studentlocalism. He was sentenced to jail in 2021, after pleading guilty to secession and money laundry in Hong Kong, and finished his sentence in June this year. In a lengthy Facebook post released on Thursday, Chung said he traveled to the UK via Japan after obtaining permission from Hong Kong police to go on a Christmas trip to Okinawa.

According to Chung, as he was sentenced before turning 21, he was obligated to adhere to the Correctional Services Department's Supervision Services for one-year post-release. He said his post-jail life was subject to "stringent surveillance" by national security police.

Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, where law enforcement is stringent and violations of the law will be punished, Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said at a press briefing on Friday.

It is futile to rely on external forces and attempt to evade legal responsibility, and secessionists will be held accountable in accordance with the law, she added.

Chung is the latest known seccionist figure to leave Hong Kong. Earlier this month, Agnes Chow, another student secessionist who played a major role during the 2019 violent protests, revealed she had fled to Canada and would not return to Hong Kong.

Chow was sentenced to 10 months in prison, however, she was allowed to pursue her master's degree in Canada, on the condition that she returned to Hong Kong to report to police during school breaks.

Citing sources, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday that the Hong Kong police have questioned Chow's parents after she failed to report to the police as part of her bail conditions.

Hong Kong officials confirmed that the deadline was set for Thursday and strongly condemned Chow's "shameful acts of absconding to avoid legal responsibilities," according to media reports.

Chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee had previously vowed that fugitives would be "pursued for life." A government statement described her as "devoid of integrity."

Global Times