Philippine Official Who Sued Xi Says Denied Hong Kong Entry
Philippine Official Who Sued Xi Says Denied Hong Kong Entry
(Bloomberg) -- A former Philippine official who sued Chinese President Xi Jinping in an international court said she was interrogated by Hong Kong immigration officials and temporarily barred from entering the city.
Conchita Carpio Morales, the former head of the Philippine anti-corruption office, said the officials detained her for four hours at Hong Kong’s international airport Tuesday after she arrived for a vacation with her family. She said that while she was eventually allowed entry, she opted to return to Manila.
“I kept asking why they were detaining me. They just told me it was due to immigration reasons. I wanted to know so I could defend myself,” Morales said in a televised interview late Tuesday upon arrival in the Philippine capital. “I think someone came up with the idea of shock and awe, but I am neither shocked nor awed.”
Hong Kong’s immigration department declined to comment, saying it didn’t want to discuss an individual case.
Morales said Hong Kong’s decision to temporarily bar her was related to the complaint she had filed against Xi at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. She and former Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario accused China’s leader of alleged crimes against humanity for Beijing’s actions in the disputed South China Sea.
Morales and del Rosario accused Xi of implementing a “systematic plan to control” the waters, where China and the Philippines have competing claims, alleging that he had undermined the security of other nations and caused environmental destruction.
--With assistance from Fion Li.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh, Jon Herskovitz
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