Toronto Association for Democracy in China (TADC) announced today that Joy Luk, one of the key figures during the 2019 Hong Kong protests, has arrived safely in Canada.
《多倫多支持中國民運會》向大家發佈一個消息，於 2019 年義無反顧地支持香港反送中運動的陸耀輝小姐 (Joy Luk) 已經安全抵達加拿大。
Luk, the first and only visually impaired lawyer in Hong Kong, was always present at the frontlines of the 2019 Hong Kong protests. When not standing with a bullhorn between the protesters and the police, she provided legal assistance to those arrested.
She was targeted and harassed by the police.
“They followed me everywhere, they mock my blindness, they threatened to put me away,” she said from an undisclosed location in Toronto. “The situation had become untenable, I feared for my safety and for the safety of my family.”
She fled Hong Kong in December 2021 and received an invitation to guest lecture on disability rights at an institution of higher-learning in Toronto.
Luk, 44, was born blind. She received a Master of Law in International Human Rights from Hong Kong University and is a passionate advocate for democratic rights and for the rights of people with disability.
“People’s kindness really shown through, especially to someone who is visually impaired,” Luk said as she reflected on the civility of the protest movement. “I can still remember Denise Ho patiently taking my hands guiding me through the crowd.”
Ho is the Canadian popstar arrested at the end of last year for her role on the advisory board of The Stand News. The independent news media has since been shut down.
“This is the true spirit of the non-violent Hong Kong protests despite overwhelming police brutality,” said Cheuk Kwan of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China. “Canada should show more concern for the end of democracy in Hong Kong and help resettle some of these brave people here.”
Toronto Association for Democracy in China urges the Canadian government to broaden the scope of political asylum and speed up the refugee settlement process.
Former immigration minister Marco Mendicino previously told the House of Commons that would-be migrants or asylum seekers would not be denied entry for “arrests and convictions outside Canada for taking part in peaceful protests.”
“But that spirit has not been upheld on the ground,” Kwan said. “We have seen just too many cases where visitors from Hong Kong were deemed inadmissible simply because they were previously convicted for the possession of laser pointers in their knapsacks.”
《多倫多支持中國民運會》向大家發佈一個消息，於 2019 年義無反顧地支持香港反送中運動的陸耀輝小姐 (Joy Luk) 已經安全抵達加拿大。
作為香港第一位亦是唯一一位失明律師，陸小姐經常出現於 2019 年大大小小的抗議活動前線。她抱着擴音器站在警方防線與抗争者之間作出調解，亦為被捕抗爭者提供法律援助。
她因此成為警察的針對目標，不時受到騷擾。
「他們四處跟著我，在我面前嘲笑我是瞎子，又威脅把我鎖進監倉。其後情況變得難以想像，令我擔心自己和家人的安全。」如今她已身處多倫多一個安全地點。
陸律師今年44 歲，雖然天生失明，卻努力不懈，於香港大學取得國際人權法學碩士學位。她一直熱心於提倡民主、人權和殘疾權利的工作。
陸律師獲邀於多倫多一所大專學府作客席講者，講述殘疾人仕的權利。她已經於 2021年底離開香港。
當她回想這場文明有序的抗爭運動時：「羣眾的真善美實在太令人感動，身為一名視障人士我更加深深體會。還記得當日何韻詩細心地牽著我的手，引導我穿過人群。」
何韻詩是加拿大藉的香港流行歌手，因曾於《立場新聞》擔任顧問而於去年年底被拘捕。數日後《立場新聞》宣佈關閉。
「香港警察用暴力手段壓倒一切，正正彰顯這場非暴力抗議活動的真正精神，」《多倫多支持中國民運會》關卓中說。 「香港的自由淪喪加拿大應多加關注 ，好讓這些勇敢的香港人在這裏重獲新生。」
《多倫多支持中國民運會》敦促加拿大政府擴大救生艇計劃，放寬政治庇護條件，加快難民審批程序。 前移民部長 Marco Mendicino 曾於國會提到，在加拿大境外因參與和平抗議而被捕及定罪的人士，在移民抵步或尋求庇護時不會被拒絕入境。
關卓中續道：「但前線官員執行時並沒有顧及這個原則。我們見到不少案例，來自香港的旅客被視為不乎合入境條件，只不過因為曾被指控在背囊內藏有鐳射筆。」