Amid growing turmoil and change, a family in Hong Kong leaves for the UK
Until early April, Hui was a photojournalist for the Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper that shut down following the arrest of five top editors and executives and the freezing of its assets under a national security law that China’s ruling Communist Party imposed on Hong Kong as part of the crackdown
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After two years of turmoil and change, Hong Kong was not the same for Mike Hui. One month ago, the 36-year-old photographer pulled up roots and moved with his wife and young daughter to the UK to try starting anew. | In the picture: Mike Hui, left, poses with his family in Hong Kong as they are packing their house for moving to England, on 9 March, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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“I felt that I couldn’t stay anymore, and that I couldn’t let my next generation grow up in a society like this,” he said. His departure came after anti-government protests divided the city in 2019 and a subsequent crackdown that has rounded up democracy activists and stifled dissent. | In the picture: Mike Hui, right, prays before the Chinese New Year dinner at home in Hong Kong on 10 February, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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Until early April, Hui was a photojournalist for the Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper that shut down last week following the arrest of five top editors and executives and the freezing of its assets under a national security law that China’s ruling Communist Party imposed on Hong Kong as part of the crackdown. | In the picture: Daughter, centre, of Mike Hui farewells to her classmates at a kindergarten in Hong Kong on 20 May, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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He called the closing of the paper, where he worked for seven years, heart-aching. “I felt that all my memories of these years, and everything that proved that I existed in this place as well as this industry, were gone. … It’s like losing a family member who was very close to you,” he said. | In the picture: Thousands of protesters gather near the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on 12 June, 2019. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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Hui misses family and friends but less so the city where he was born and raised. “I don’t have strong feelings about this place after it’s been ruined in the past two years,” he said. | In the picture: Mike Hui reads the Apple Daily newspaper before his departure to England, at an airport in Hong Kong on 21 May, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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He pointed to a July 2019 attack on people in a subway station by a mob apparently opposed to the then-ongoing protests. It came amid tensions between police and supporters of the protesters, and many, including Hui, were disappointed by how police handled the attack in Yuen Long. | In the picture: British National Overseas passports (BNO) and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China passports are displayed by Mike Hui at home in Hong Kong on 31 January, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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The rollout of the national security law a year later was a catalyst for his decision to leave, he said. The adjustment to life in Leeds, a city in northern England, has perhaps been easiest for his 5-year-old daughter. Before leaving, Hui told her that their new home was a place where people of different skin colours and races lived, just like in the Disney movie “Frozen.” | In the picture: Mike Hui, left, hugs his mother before his departure to England, in Hong Kong airport on 21 May, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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She has been enjoying the spacious parks, huge warehouse-like toy stores and a larger bedroom than in densely packed Hong Kong. “After all she’s still young, and she doesn’t know what’s going on,” he said. | In the picture: Mike Hui, right, takes a selfie of his family and friends before his departure to England, in Hong Kong airport on 21 May, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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Despite more than 10 years in media, Hui has no plans to pick up the job again in the UK, at least not full-time. He doesn’t intend to resume the Hong Kong way of life either. | In the picture: Mike Hui, rear centre, farewells to his relatives and friends as he and his family prepare to leave for England, in Hong Kong airport on 21 May, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press/Kin Cheung.
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“Having moved here, I want to have a reborn mindset,” he said. “I want to start over and challenge myself. You have to move on from something … and try new things.” | In the picture: Mike Hui, left, and his family pose at a balcony in his temporary flat in Leeds, England on 22 June, 2021. Photo via The Associated Press.
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