Current:Home > StocksHong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow jumps bail and moves to Canada -WealthPro Academy
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow jumps bail and moves to Canada
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:25:48
HONG KONG (AP) — One of Hong Kong’s best-known pro-democracy activists, who moved to Canada to pursue further studies, said she would not return to the city to meet her bail conditions, becoming the latest politician to flee Hong Kong under Beijing’s crackdown on dissidents.
Agnes Chow, a famous young face in the city’s once-vibrant pro-democracy movement, was arrested in 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was enacted following 2019 anti-government protests. She was released on bail but also served more than six months in jail for a separate case over her role in the protests.
After Chow was released from prison in 2021 for that case, she had to regularly report to the police. She said in an Instagram post on Sunday night that the pressure caused her “mental illnesses” and influenced her decision not to return to the city.
Many of her peers have been jailed, arrested, forced into self-exile or silenced after the introduction of the security law in 2020.
The suppression of the city’s pro-democracy movement highlights that freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997 have been eroded drastically. But Beijing and Hong Kong have hailed the security law for bringing back stability to the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Chow said the authorities in July offered to return her passport for her to pursue studies in Canada under the condition that she would travel to mainland China with them. She agreed, she said, and her trip in August included a visit to an exhibition on China’s achievements and the headquarters of tech giant Tencent. The authorities later returned her passport to her.
After considering the situation in Hong Kong, her safety and her health, Chow said she “probably won’t return” to the city again.
“I don’t want to be forced to do things that I don’t want to do anymore and be forced to visit mainland China again. If it continues, my body and my mind will collapse even though I am safe,” she wrote.
Hong Kong police on Monday “strongly condemned” Chow’s move, without naming her, saying it was “against and challenging the rule of law.”
“Police urge the woman to immediately turn back before it is too late and not to choose a path of no return. Otherwise, she will bear the stigma of ‘fugitive’ for the rest of her life,” the police said in a statement.
The police did not respond to questions from The Associated Press on Chow’s mainland China trip.
Chow rose to fame with other prominent young activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law as a student leader for their activism in the 2010s, including pro-democracy protests in 2014.
She co-founded the now-defunct pro-democracy party Demosisto with Wong and Law, but the party was disbanded on June 30, 2020, the same day the security law was enacted.
Wong is now in custody and faces a subversion charge that could result in life imprisonment if convicted. Law fled to Britain and the police in July offered a reward of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,600) for information leading to his arrest.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Many women deal with unwanted facial hair. Here's what they should know.
- 4 men charged in theft of golden toilet from Churchill’s birthplace. It’s an artwork titled America
- Live updates | Israeli warplanes hit refugee camps in Gaza while UN agencies call siege an ‘outrage’
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Yellen to host Chinese vice premier for talks in San Francisco ahead of start of APEC summit
- New tent cities could pop up in NYC as mayor removes homeless migrants from shelters
- New Edition announces Las Vegas residency dates starting in late February after touring for 2 years
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Myanmar resistance claims first capture of a district capital from the military government
Ranking
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- AP PHOTOS: Pan American Games feature diving runner, flying swimmer, joyful athletes in last week
- Officials in North Carolina declare state of emergency as wildfires burn hundreds of acres
- Vikings QB Joshua Dobbs didn't know most of his teammates' names. He led them to a win.
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Polish president to appoint new prime minister after opposition coalition’s election win
- South Africa recalls ambassador and diplomatic mission to Israel and accuses it of genocide in Gaza
- California officer involved in controversial police shooting resigns over racist texts, chief says
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Abigail Zwerner, teacher shot by 6-year-old, can proceed with lawsuit against school board
Officials in North Carolina declare state of emergency as wildfires burn hundreds of acres
French justice minister is on trial accused of conflict of interest
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
The Fate of The Bear Will Have You Saying Yes, Chef
Inspired by online dating, AI tool for adoption matchmaking falls short for vulnerable foster kids
Germany’s Scholz faces pressure to curb migration as he meets state governors