Deported U.S. 'spy' scholar returns to HK

Li's return has been criticized by pro-Beijing lawmakers who say he should not be admitted to Chinese territory following his deportation

HONG KONG, China -- A U.S. scholar convicted by a Beijing court almost two weeks ago of spying for Taiwan has arrived in Hong Kong.

Li Shaomin was deported by Chinese authorities to the United states last week and his arrival in the territory is being seen by many observers as a major test of Hong Kong's legal autonomy from the mainland.

Arriving at Hong Kong airport Monday afternoon on a flight from New York, Li was questioned for five hours by immigration authorities before being admitted.

He made few comments to waiting reporters other that to say he was looking forward to resuming his teaching post at the territory's City University where he is a professor of marketing.

AUDIO Hong Kong independent legislator Margaret Ng says Li's return is good for Hong Kong's international image 1.22MB / 1min 56sec AIFF or WAV sound   MORE STORIES Chinese scholar denies being a spy      CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

"I feel great. I feel home," Li told the English-language South China Morning Post after his arrival.

"I am glad that I can finally sleep in my own bed at home after the five-month ordeal."

City University authorities say that Li remains on the staff list but have not yet confirmed whether he will be allowed to resume work.

One country

Li, who was accompanied on his return by his wife Amy Liu Yingli and their eight-year-old daughter, Diana, was reported to have been accompanied by two U.S. consular officials during his questioning by immigration officials.

A number of pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kong have objected to Li's return, saying the decision to allow him entry following his deportation fails to recognize that Hong Kong is part of one country.

City University officials say Li remains on staff, but it is unclear when or if he will resume work

They argue that Li was convicted of spying on China, of which Hong Kong is now a part, and he should therefore be barred from coming back.

However, many pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong, who had earlier expressed fears that Li might be refused entry under pressure from Beijing, welcomed the news of his return as a victory for the territory's independence.

Martin Lee, the head of the territory's Democratic Party and the leading opposition figure in the Hong Kong legislature, praised what he called the "good news" of Li's arrival.

However, he said it was unclear whether Beijing had approved Li's return or if Hong Kong had done it on its own.

The latter, he said, would be "even better, provided that Beijing doesn't overturn the government's decision."

'Wise decision'

Another independent legislator, Margaret Ng, told CNN she believed Li's readmission was a "wise decision".

"It's important for Hong Kong (and) it's important for Hong Kong's image to the world" she said.

"He has a valid visa, he has a job in Hong Kong, he has family in Hong Kong -- if you were to keep him away from Hong Kong you have a great deal of explanation to do."

Under the terms of the handover from British colonial rule Hong Kong has special legal status under Chinese rule in accordance with the so-called "one country-two systems" principle.

However, rights groups and pro-democracy legislators say that in the fours years since the handover, Hong Kong's legal autonomy has been compromised on several occasions with the territory's leaders coming under increasing pressure from Beijing to toe the mainland line.

Li's arrival in Hong Kong came five days after he arrived in New York following his deportation from China.

He was expelled after being convicted of damaging China's national security and spying for Taiwan.

Communist adviser

He was met at the airport by his father, 76 year old Li Honglin, who now lives in the territory but was once a prominent liberal thinker on the mainland and an adviser to the late Chinese Communist Party reformist leader Hu Yaobang.

The elder Li was himself jailed by the Chinese authorities for 10 months after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests for sympathizing with pro-democracy students.

The Hong Kong government has made little public comment on Li's return to the territory other than to say it would "not allow anybody in Hong Kong to undertake espionage activities and jeopardize the interests of Hong Kong and the state."

"We will act in accordance with the law and strictly enforce the immigration ordinance," a government spokesman said, adding it was not policy to comment on individual cases.

Li himself has said he has no wish to become a figurehead for human rights groups in China and appears keen to keep a low profile following his return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.