HK activist tells of sex assault in German refugee camp

A Hong Kong student granted refugee status by Germany said she spent almost a year living in refugee facilities, during which time she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by the man in charge of one of them.

The person has been charged but the case has yet to land in court, according to Ray Wong Toi-yeung of Haven Assistance, a group helping activists in exile.

The 22-year-old university student faced a rioting charge in Hong Kong after being arrested at a protest last November,

She fled to Germany via Taiwan several days later - without telling her family.

"It felt surreal," the activist said. "And I was very upset that I needed to leave Hong Kong like that as I knew I might never return."

She added: "I chose to flee from Hong Kong because I knew I wouldn't be given a fair trial."

The student spent almost a year in three refugee camps while she waited for her application to be approved.

That came through on October 14 when she received a letter from the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

But by the time she had been admitted to hospital due to emotional troubles.

As for the sexual assault, she claimed to have suffered at the hands of the person running a refugee camp in January and had made a complaint to police.

The student declined to provide details of the case, but she will be testifying when the case goes to court.

"I have to emphasize that apart from that male staffer everyone working at the refugee camps was friendly and followed the rules," she said.

She was also grateful to the German government, which provided her with most of her daily necessities.

But she would like the country to simplify procedures for the applications of refugee status for Hongkongers and allow them to stay outside camps.

Haven Assistance noted that the student has been granted refugee status in Germany for three years. It also urged Berlin to improve and broaden its asylum policies regarding Hong Kong.

Haven co-founder Wong was granted refugee status by Germany alongside fellow activist Alan Li Tung-sing in 2018.

Sam Goodman, a senior policy adviser at Hong Kong Watch, welcomed Berlin's decision to grant asylum to the student.

But "the young woman's experience shows it is time for reform," he added.

In July, Germany along with other European Union member states agreed to move on proposals to make it easier for young Hongkongers to work and study in Europe as part of an international "lifeboat" policy.

Goodman said among desired changes the German government could designate a specific pathway for Hongkongers and expand its working holiday visa system.

Britain and Canada have meanwhile offered paths to citizenship for those seeking to flee Hong Kong.