Current:Home > MarketsDemocracy activist Agnes Chow says she still feels under the Hong Kong police’s watch in Canada-LoTradeCoin
Democracy activist Agnes Chow says she still feels under the Hong Kong police’s watch in Canada
View Date:2025-01-14 05:11:58
BANGKOK (AP) — Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, who left Hong Kong for Canada and won’t return to meet her bail conditions, said Thursday she felt still under the watch of the Chinese territory’s police even after moving to Toronto.
Chow is one of Hong Kong’s most prominent young activists and was arrested in 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was enacted following 2019 anti-government protests. While she was not charged and was released on bail, police confiscated her passport before returning her this year under certain conditions, including a visit to mainland China with authorities.
Chow said in an interview with The Associated Press that Hong Kong’s national security police called her twice to ask her about her status after she left the city to pursue further studies in September.
“They keep trying to make me feel like I’m under their eyes,” she said.
The intimidation of Hong Kong dissidents like Chow reflected the severe erosion of the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997. But both the Beijing and Hong Kong governments have hailed the security law for bringing back stability to the city.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee hit out at Chow’s decision to not return to Hong Kong to fulfil her bail conditions. He called Chow a “liar” and said the police’s attempt to offer her lenient treatment eventually led to them being deceived. Chow would be pursued for life unless she turns herself in, he added.
But Chow rejected the government’s claims that police had offered her leniency, insisting she only felt infringement of her personal safety and freedom. She said the restrictions imposed by the authorities on her daily life had badly affected her mental health.
She said in an Instagram post on Sunday she only had her passport returned to her so she could pursue a master’s degree after she agreed to go to mainland China with national security authorities.
During that trip in August, she said, she visited to an exhibition on China’s achievements and the headquarters of tech giant Tencent. She was asked to pose for photos. Later, police asked her to write a thank you letter to them before returning her passport to her, she added.
Chow pondered for “a really long time” whether to publicize her experience. She said her trip showed the Hong Kong police were adopting more of the style of mainland Chinese authorities to “control” and “intimidate” political dissidents.
“If I did not make my story public, these photos, these letters might one day become the evidence of my patriotism. That is something I do not want to see,” she said.
The police and Lee have not immediately replied to the AP’s request for comment.
They have condemned her decision to leave. Lee on Tuesday highlighted that Chow was arrested for alleged collusion with foreign forces and that those who have committed that offense have become foreign agents.
However, Chow said that framing was “ridiculous,” pointing out she has not been charged three years after her arrest. She said her decision to move to Canada and not to return to Hong Kong was entirely her own decision.
“So we could clearly see that the national security law has become a political tool to the authority to make up accusations and to intimidate political dissidents,” she said.
She said she was “stopped” from contacting her friends in Demosisto, a now-defunct political party she co-founded with other prominent activists Nathan Law and Joshua Wong.
Demosisto was disbanded on June 30, 2020, the same day the security law was enacted. Wong is in custody on a subversion charge that could result in life imprisonment if he is convicted. Law fled to Britain and Hong Kong police have offered a reward of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,600) for information leading to his arrest.
While Chow is now thousands of miles away from her hometown, her worries about her safety remain.
She pointed to China’s alleged “secret overseas police stations,” which have been reported across North America, Europe, and in other countries. China denies that they are police stations, saying that they exist mainly to provide citizen services such as renewing driver’s licenses.
“But at least I could do what I want to do. I could say what I want to say,” she said. “I could finally I could start to heal my mental health issues.”
___
Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
veryGood! (7976)
Related
- Kendall Jenner Is Back to Being a Brunette After Ditching Blonde Hair
- Xfinity data breach, Comcast hack affects nearly 36 million customers: What to know
- Ash from Indonesia’s Marapi volcano forces airport to close and stops flights
- At least 20 villagers are killed during a rebel attack in northern Central African Republic
- Panel advises Illinois commemorate its role in helping slaves escape the South
- Black barbershops are creating a buzz − over books. So young readers can just 'be boys.'
- U.S. charges Hezbollah operative who allegedly planned 1994 Argentina bombing that killed 85
- Horoscopes Today, December 22, 2023
- Beyoncé has released lots of new products. Here's a Beyhive gift guide for the holidays
- How a 19th century royal wedding helped cement the Christmas tree as holiday tradition
Ranking
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- Longtime Chicago Alderman Ed Burke found guilty of corruption
- Prized pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto agrees with Dodgers on $325 million deal, according to reports
- Cambridge theater hosts world premiere of Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
- Brush fire erupts in Brooklyn's iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought
- Dreaming of a white Christmas? Try Alaska. Meanwhile, some US ski areas struggle with rain
- Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats
- Former NFL player Mike Williams died of dental-related sepsis, medical examiner says
Recommendation
-
Chrysler recalls over 200k Jeep, Dodge vehicles over antilock-brake system: See affected models
-
Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy following $146 million defamation suit judgment
-
U.S. charges Hezbollah operative who allegedly planned 1994 Argentina bombing that killed 85
-
Hong Kong court rejects activist publisher Jimmy Lai’s bid to throw out sedition charge
-
Trading wands for whisks, new Harry Potter cooking show brings mess and magic
-
Peso Pluma is YouTube's most-streamed artist of the year: See the top 5
-
ICHCOIN Trading Center: AI Trading Center Providing High-Quality Services
-
Probe: Doomed Philadelphia news helicopter hit trees fast, broke up, then burned, killing 2 on board
Like
- Judge recuses himself in Arizona fake elector case after urging response to attacks on Kamala Harris
- Reducing Methane From Livestock Is Critical for Stabilizing the Climate, but Congress Continues to Block Farms From Reporting Emissions Anyway
- UN health agency cites tenfold increase in reported cases of dengue over the last generation