Lord Alton of Liverpool, Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong and a Patron of human rights group Hong Kong Watch today says:
“Grandma Wong is an inspiration to generations of pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. A fearless 64-year-old campaigner who has spent 14 months being detained without trial on the Chinese mainland, embodies the bravery, determination and resilience of the Hong Kong protestors that have inspired the world.
“During her detention she was forced to sing the Chinese national anthem, photographed holding the Chinese flag and had to confess in writing that her activism was wrong. This sort of aggressive behaviour is an all-too-common characteristic of Chinese authorities, determined to trample on dissent and to stamp out any calls for freedom and democracy.
“Supporters of democracy the world over will not leave it to brave activists like Granma Wong to stand up to China alone. We stand with her, and in announcing that we will nominate her for the Nobel Prize, with global political support, we send a clear signal to the brutal Chinese Communist Party and its puppet regime in Hong Kong that we will not shield our eyes from their denial of the most basic human rights and their undermining of the rule of law. Grandma Wong and Hong Kong’s grandchildren represent the future, not Tiananmen tanks, coercion, and repression.”
