HONG KONG -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration refused to help prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong leave the city before the enactment of a draconian national security law imposed by China, resulting in his imprisonment later that year.
Despite Washington's vociferous support for Hong Kongers' fight for democracy, the U.S. State Department denied Wong's request to enter its consulate, where he hoped to seek refuge. Wong met with consular staff in a building across from the foreign mission in Hong Kong at the end of June 2020, according to several people familiar with the situation.
The democracy activist asked for the State Department's help to leave the Chinese territory after his passport was confiscated as a condition of his bail. But the U.S. diplomats declined his request to enter the consulate. A person familiar with the matter told Nikkei Asia the decision was based on American national security interests. "It would have made the U.S.-China relationship even more contentious," he said.
