“The only way for Hongkongers to achieve democracy is to become independent instead of seeking autonomy under the rule of China,” Andy Chan Ho-tin, the founder of the banned Hong Kong National Party, told Breitbart News.

Chan was nominated this month for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts against communist rule in the nominally autonomous city, which remains in the throes of a pro-democracy protest movement that has brought millions out onto its streets. Those who nominated him note that, unlike other members of the pro-democracy movement seeking merely to keep autonomy under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy that keeps Beijing as Hong Kong’s capital, Chan has for years advocated sovereignty as an independent state.

Chan founded the Hong Kong National Party in 2016, two years after participating in the Umbrella Movement protests that first unsettled Beijing’s hand-picked government in the city. That year, authorities banned him from running for office because he refused to say he supported Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong in a ballot interview with officials; China demands anyone running for office in the country bow to Beijing’s ultimate authority.

The Hong Kong government later declared the party itself illegal; Chan has faced consistent police harassment, detention, and persecution since.

Speaking to Breitbart News this week via email, Chan predicted that the current lull in the protest movement – largely the product of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak forcing locals to avoid crowded public spaces – is temporary.

“The protests will definitely come back when the coronavirus outbreak is over. And more people would join the protests, as the government has performed extremely poorly,” Chan noted. “The protests have cooled down a little bit and then the Wuhan coronavirus broke out. The coronavirus outbreak happened to multiply the effect of the protests. The economy is facing the worst challenge in a few decades.”

Chan noted that the virus originated in China and the Hong Kong government refused to close all its borders to Chinese citizens to prevent the virus from spreading – a choice that prompted thousands of medical workers to strike, protesting that the government was not adequately caring for them. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam nonetheless insisted on leaving three border crossings open, arguing that the links between Hong Kong and China are too strong to cut them completely.

At press time, Hong Kong has documented 58 Wuhan coronavirus cases and one death. The result has been international travel limitations on Hong Kong as well as China to contain the virus.

“Now Hong Kong people were blocked by many countries and considered as Chinese. This reminds Hong Kong people why we should pursue independence from China or we would be isolated by the world,” Chan told Breitbart News. “All in all, the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak once again reminds us China is a serious threat to the world in many ways, that we should contain and isolate China. Hongkongers have to distinguish ourselves apart from Chinese.”

Chan also made the case that it is impossible to trust China to grant true autonomy via “One Country, Two Systems.” Beijing agreed to the policy in 1997, following the United Kingdom’s surrender of Hong Kong to China, vowing to respect capitalism and democracy in Hong Kong so long as Hong Kong did not try to secede and form its own country.