Wu's UK Visit to End on Wednesday

Wu has precious days with his wife and son in the UK

Looks like former Hong Kong lawmaker and opposition leader Wu Chi-wai's trip to the UK will be cut short. Instead of his hopes of spending time with his family for a few months, he will be leaving by Wednesday.

He flew to the UK last Wednesday after he served four years and five months in prison, but was held by immigration officials for what was described as an administrative problem with his paperwork.

Wu was jailed for conspiracy to commit subversion after he and 46 other political activists and politicians took part in an unofficial primary election in 2020.

According to the Associated Press, Wu was eventually allowed to enter the country, but the authorities only granted him a seven-day immigration bail, which means he will be removed on Wednesday and sent back to Hong Kong.

Wu had hoped to pre-empt problems with his criminal record by proactively contacting the British Consulate in Hong Kong ahead of his trip.

However, border officials thought he might have long-term plans of staying other than visiting, hence the seven-day stay.

While the visit is too short to make up for lost time with his wife and son, who moved to the UK in 2022, Wu is also concerned he may not be able to enter the UK again after this incident, and hopes the Home Office can reverse the decision and allow him to extend his stay.

"I am very worried about whether I have the ability or a chance to secure a reentrance to the UK to meet with my family again," he said.

The Home Office has said it does not publicly comment on individual cases. 

Originally Wu had planned to stay in the UK until November, but now he is expected to leave in a few days.

He told the AP that being behind bars taught him that life is short; he was unable to see his parents before they passed, only allowed to attend their funerals briefly.

"If at such a moment you are unable to see your parents off for the last time, the psychological blow is actually significant," Wu said.

Which is why it is all the more important to him to spend as much time with his family as possible.

"Start afresh and cherish the time I have to reunite with my family," he said. "I feel this is my most important task in the near future."