Days before Angela Merkel leaves for a tricky visit to Beijing, prominent Hong Kong activists have written to the German Chancellor calling her to be guided by her memories of life in dictatorial East Germany in her dealings with Beijing. In an open letter to Merkel published in Wednesday’s Bild newspaper, activists including Joshua Wong, head of the Demosisto pro-democracy movement, said Germany should be on its guard in business dealings with China. Hong Kong has been convulsed by months of unrest since its government announced attempts to make it easier to extradite suspects to China, a move seen as a prelude to bringing the pluralistic autonomous region more in line with the mainland.
