Singapore yesterday said that it had refused entry to Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law (羅冠聰) over the weekend as his presence would not be in the city-state’s “national interests.”
The activist, who holds a UK refugee travel document, said that he had been denied entry when he tried to pass immigration after his plane landed at Singapore’s Changi Airport from San Francisco on Saturday.
He said he was sent back on Sunday on a plane to San Francisco.
Photo: AFP
“Law’s entry into and presence in the country would not be in Singapore’s national interests,” the Singaporean Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
“A visa holder is still subject to further checks at point of entry into the country. That is what happened with Nathan Law,” it said.
Law had fled from Hong Kong in 2020 and the police there issued a warrant for his arrest for offenses under the National Security Law, the ministry said.
Upon arrival in Singapore, Law was “referred for questioning, and immigration and security assessment” at the airport, it said.
“Law was then refused entry. He was placed on the earliest flight back to San Francisco on 28 September 2025,” it added.
Law said he was granted a Singapore visa to attend a “closed-door, invitation-only event” and expected to be allowed in.
“I received the visa around three weeks prior to departure... I submitted all information, including the invitation to the event in the application,” Law said. “I attempted to go through immigration, but I was detained, despite having a valid visa to enter the country.”
“I was not told why I was detained,” he said, adding that he spent “roughly 14 hours” in Singapore.
He said he thought Singapore’s decision to deny him entry was “political, although I am unsure whether external forces, such as the PRC, are involved, directly or indirectly,” referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Asked about the case yesterday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was not familiar with the situation, but that countries had the right to manage their own immigration processes.
“The person you mentioned is an anti-China, destabilizing force in Hong Kong who is lawfully wanted by the Hong Kong police,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said.
Law was one of the student leaders of the 2014 “Umbrella movement” in Hong Kong, the sometimes violent pro-democracy protests which Chinese officials saw as a challenge to their rule over the territory.
He has lived in exile in the UK and the US since fleeing Hong Kong after Beijing imposed the security law on the territory.
Singapore has refused entry to foreign activists in the past, saying the city-state cannot be used as a platform for political activities.
SAFETY FIRST: The US transportation secretary said that there is no room for politics when it comes to safety and security of the global aviation system Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday expressed his sincere thanks to US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy for calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) technical work regardless of politics. The ministry relayed Lin’s thanks in a statement issued after Duffy’s remarks on the first day of the ICAO’s triennial general assembly in Montreal on Tuesday. Duffy said that for the sake of global safety, countries that threaten aviation security should be excluded from the ICAO leadership, while all stakeholders, including Taiwan, must be included in its technical work regardless of politics. “There is no room for
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
CONCERNS: The Premier said authorities should find out why evacuation orders were not carried out, and ordered agencies to stay in Hualien to help with relief At least 14 people have been confirmed dead after floodwaters from the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake burst into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) on Tuesday, government officials said yesterday, after Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded Taiwan with torrential rain. The lake in eastern Hualien — formed by a series of landslides that created a natural dam wall — burst, washing away a bridge and sweeping into Guangfu with a trail of thick sludge and mud. “It was like a volcano erupting... The muddy floodwaters came roaring straight into the first floor of my house,” said Hsu Cheng-hsiung, 55, a neighborhood leader of
LEAKED FILES: While China has the better equipment, Russia can offer combat experience, possibly helping speed up Beijing’s airborne program by 10 to 15 years Russia is selling military equipment and technology to China that could help Beijing prepare an airborne invasion of Taiwan, according to an analysis of leaked Russian documents by a UK-based defense and security forum. The Royal United Services Institute’s (RUSI) analysis is based on about 800 pages of documents, including contracts and lists of equipment to be supplied by Moscow to Beijing, from the Black Moon hacktivist group, which previously published some of the documents online. It does not identify its members, but describes itself in a manifesto as opposed to governments that carry out aggressive foreign policy. The authors of the
RSS