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| Malaysia Denies Entry to Joshua Wong, Hong Kong Democracy Activist | Malaysia Denies Entry to Joshua Wong, Hong Kong Democracy Activist |
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| HONG KONG — Joshua Wong, a prominent democracy activist from Hong Kong, was denied entry into Malaysia on Tuesday in what critics called an act of political censorship by the Malaysian government. | |
| Mr. Wong was scheduled to speak at forums hosted by Malaysian youth activist groups in cities across the country from Tuesday to Friday. He said Malaysian immigration officers at Penang International Airport on Tuesday had told him that a “government order” barred him from entering the country. | |
| In a statement Tuesday evening, Mr. Wong, 18, said he was prepared to speak on democracy in China and to share with the Malaysian audience his experience during the Umbrella Movement, a large, student-led protest in Hong Kong last year demanding a free election of the city’s leader. | In a statement Tuesday evening, Mr. Wong, 18, said he was prepared to speak on democracy in China and to share with the Malaysian audience his experience during the Umbrella Movement, a large, student-led protest in Hong Kong last year demanding a free election of the city’s leader. |
| Eric Paulsen, co-founder of the Malaysian civil rights group Lawyers for Liberty, said that the Malaysian government was trying to contain the influence Mr. Wong might have had on the country’s young people, who, dissatisfied with a rising cost of living and rampant corruption, have been increasingly active in street protests since the beginning of the year. | |
| The authorities “fear ideas and independent thought, especially from the youth,” Mr. Paulsen said on Tuesday in a telephone interview. But the move was “extremely foolish,” he said, “as the publicity would certainly now generate more interest in what he has to say,” albeit through a different medium. | The authorities “fear ideas and independent thought, especially from the youth,” Mr. Paulsen said on Tuesday in a telephone interview. But the move was “extremely foolish,” he said, “as the publicity would certainly now generate more interest in what he has to say,” albeit through a different medium. |
| Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the minister of home affairs of Malaysia, said that he had no knowledge that Mr. Wong had been denied entry into the country and that he would consult the director general of immigration on the issue, according to a report by Malaysiakini, an online news outlet. | Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the minister of home affairs of Malaysia, said that he had no knowledge that Mr. Wong had been denied entry into the country and that he would consult the director general of immigration on the issue, according to a report by Malaysiakini, an online news outlet. |
| The order of rejection came from the Malaysian police, which feared that Mr. Wong would harm the country and hurt its ties with China, the police inspector general, Abu Bakar Khalid, told Agence France-Presse. | |
| “We were afraid that what he was going to speak about would harm our security,” Mr. Khalid said. “He was also going to speak about China. We know his anti-Chinese speeches. We do not want him to jeopardize our ties with China.” | “We were afraid that what he was going to speak about would harm our security,” Mr. Khalid said. “He was also going to speak about China. We know his anti-Chinese speeches. We do not want him to jeopardize our ties with China.” |
| The forums in Malaysia, hosted by youth activist groups including the Malaysia Youth and Student Democratic Movement, are to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the June 1989 crackdown around Tiananmen Square in Beijing. | The forums in Malaysia, hosted by youth activist groups including the Malaysia Youth and Student Democratic Movement, are to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the June 1989 crackdown around Tiananmen Square in Beijing. |
| In a statement, the Malaysian Working Group on the 26th Anniversary of June 4, an umbrella organization for the groups, protested what it called the authorities’ “deliberate political suppression.” | |
| “Amid ever closer economic and political ties between Malaysia and China, we hope that both governments can treat dissenters with tolerance, respecting human rights and freedom,” it said, adding that the commemorative events this week would go on. | “Amid ever closer economic and political ties between Malaysia and China, we hope that both governments can treat dissenters with tolerance, respecting human rights and freedom,” it said, adding that the commemorative events this week would go on. |
| Back in Hong Kong, Mr. Wong, who is also the leader of Scholarism, an organization of high school and university student activists, recalled having been to Penang for vacation with his family in 2012, even after he led a protest that forced the Hong Kong government to shelve a plan to introduce a Beijing-backed program of “moral and national education” in schools. He thinks that his greater fame after the Umbrella Movement led to his being denied entry to Malaysia. He said he would try to speak to the Penang audience on Tuesday night via video conferencing. | Back in Hong Kong, Mr. Wong, who is also the leader of Scholarism, an organization of high school and university student activists, recalled having been to Penang for vacation with his family in 2012, even after he led a protest that forced the Hong Kong government to shelve a plan to introduce a Beijing-backed program of “moral and national education” in schools. He thinks that his greater fame after the Umbrella Movement led to his being denied entry to Malaysia. He said he would try to speak to the Penang audience on Tuesday night via video conferencing. |
| “This incident proves that not only the Chinese government has a blacklist on Hong Kong activists, but other half-democracies or authoritarian countries also do,” Mr. Wong said. | “This incident proves that not only the Chinese government has a blacklist on Hong Kong activists, but other half-democracies or authoritarian countries also do,” Mr. Wong said. |
| Last year, some participants in the pro-democracy demonstrations were barred from entering mainland China. Most prominent among them were three leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students: Alex Chow, Nathan Law and Eason Chung, who found out at the Hong Kong airport that the Chinese authorities had rescinded their entry permits, thwarting their plan to go to Beijing to demand talks with Chinese government leaders. | Last year, some participants in the pro-democracy demonstrations were barred from entering mainland China. Most prominent among them were three leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students: Alex Chow, Nathan Law and Eason Chung, who found out at the Hong Kong airport that the Chinese authorities had rescinded their entry permits, thwarting their plan to go to Beijing to demand talks with Chinese government leaders. |