German activist and HKU journalism grad David Missal says Hong Kong denied him entry despite travelling freely to China
Hong Kong Free Press
An award-winning German journalist, activist and University of Hong Kong (HKU) graduate has said he was barred from entering the city.
David Missal said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was denied entry on Sunday evening: “After 13 sleepless hours under immigration examination in the middle of the night, I was told that I could not enter the city and was eventually allowed to take a plane to Vietnam, where I planned to go only in a couple of days.”
HKFP has reached out to the Immigration Department for comment.
Missal had landed at Hong Kong International Airport on a China Southern Airlines flight from Beijing, according to a refusal notice he shared. He said he had entered mainland China under its visa-free policy. When asked by HKFP on Sunday why he thought he had been barred, he said: “Honestly, I am not sure whether it was my past activism on Hong Kong in Germany, having been expelled from China or my current job.”
He currently works with the Tibet Initiative Deutschland, which advocates for self-determination in the Chinese region, and co-founded Freiheit für Hongkong, an NGO that works towards a democratic, free Hong Kong.
On Twitter, he added that he was exhausted by the experience: “I was questioned several times and held in a room without any daylight but neon tubes at the ceiling. My luggage was searched. The police did not provide any reason for the entry refusal. In the end, I was accompanied by plainclothes police officers to the plane to Vietnam.”
“I feel so sad that I can not go to such a beautiful city as Hong Kong anymore. I hope Hong Kong will be free – one day,” he said.
Human Rights Press Award
In 2018, a renewal of Missal’s student visa was refused by Chinese authorities. He was at the time studying at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, and had one year left of his master’s programme.
Missal was later accepted onto a course at HKU’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre. In 2019, he won a Human Rights Press Award for an interview with Chinese rights lawyer Lin Qilei. During the ceremony at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Missal said he wanted “to understand how human rights defenders in China live, what they fear, what they dream of.”
HKFP has reached out to HKU for comment.
In 2008, Danish Tiananmen crackdown artist Jens Galschiøt was denied entry to Hong Kong. In 2017, UK rights activist Benedict Rogers was refused entry, as were two leaders from a Macau pro-democracy party and Taiwanese writer Chang Tieh-chih. A year later, Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet was turned away at Immigration. Academic Dan Garrett was barred in 2019.
In 2023, Ken Roth – then-head of NGO Human Rights Watch was barred from entering the city. Also that year, Japanese journalist Yoshiaki Ogawa, Japanese photographer Michiko Kiseki, Japanese street performer Mr Wally, and US photojournalist Matthew Connors were turned away.
This year, Japanese activist Uryu Hirano was reportedly barred, as was Advocacy Officer Aleksandra Bielakowska from free expression NGO Reporters Without Borders.
Hong Kong’s Immigration Department last Tuesday announced the implementation of a new Advanced Passenger Information system “to prevent undesirables, including potential non-refoulement claimants, from boarding flights heading to Hong Kong.”
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.