Activist’s Father Arrested
Hong Kong police arrested high-profile activist Anna Kwok’s (郭鳳儀) father on April 30 and charged him with a national security crime. He was charged with “directly or indirectly” dealing with the finances of an “absconder” under section 90 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
Human Rights Watch said the arrest represented one part of an “intensified” campaign of harassment against Hong Kong activists. Another activist, Carmen Lau (劉珈汶), spoke out last week about the experience of her family members in Hong Kong who were also arrested. “They wanted to know about financial relationships I had with others in Hong Kong and were interested in my family tree — the other relatives I have in Hong Kong,” she told The Mail on Sunday.
“The Chinese government has increased its appalling use of collective punishment against family members of peaceful activists from Hong Kong,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Hong Kong authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Anna Kwok’s father and cease harassing families of Hong Kong activists.”
Third Chinese Embassy Protest in London
The third protest in front of China’s proposed new embassy in London took place on May 3. Its route was adjusted at short notice by the Metropolitan Police, according to organizers at the demonstration (which Domino Theory attended). The police did not give a detailed explanation of the change of route, which meant protesters were not allowed to march across Tower Bridge, leading protesters to speculate that the decision was a result of Chinese influence.
The proposed embassy is controversial because protesters believe it could be used as a base for increased surveillance of Hong Kongers and dissidents in the U.K. A decision over its future is expected from the U.K. government this month.
Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights Report
The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights’ 2024 report has highlighted the expansion of Hong Kong’s national security regime as a key development in closing down rights in the city. It said the enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in 2024 “empowers the executive to override judicial processes, curtail fair trial guarantees, and assert extraterritorial jurisdiction.”
The report also highlighted new limits on judicial independence and access to justice, and an escalation in surveillance. “Government expanded its CCTV infrastructure and signaled interest in AI and facial recognition technologies. Online expression remains heavily policed, with multiple sedition prosecutions targeting social media activity. Alarmingly, evidence has also surfaced of transnational surveillance,” it said.
Attempt to Harness Far Right
A joint investigation between the Guardian and Hope Not Hate has found a coordinated campaign to channel far-right anger toward Hong Kongers in the wake of the Southport murders.
As far-right riots spread across the U.K. over three days in August 2024, fuelled by speculation about the immigration status of a man who murdered three young girls at a dance class, more than 150 posts were sent from 29 accounts which attempted to draw the attention of anti-immigrant groups toward Hong Kong exiles.
Across a range of tactics, these posts attempted to flag up the immigration status of Hong Kongers in the U.K. and gave out the addresses Hong Konger support groups and individuals to high profile far-right figures.
The Guardian reported that patterns in the posts could be linked to a Chinese security agency.
U.K. security minister Dan Jarvis told the Guardian: “National security is the first duty of this government. Any attempt by a foreign government to coerce, intimidate or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, is wholly unacceptable.”
Amnesty International Launches Hong Kong Office ‘in Exile’
Three years after it closed its Hong Kong office, Amnesty International has announced that it has reopened, in exile. Staffed by Hong Kongers who have left the city, they will be operating from countries including Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.
Amnesty’s secretary general, Agnes Callamard, said the office demonstrates “our commitment to defending human rights no matter the challenges we face.”
Claudia Mo Released
Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), the founder of Hong Kong’s Civic Party, has spoken out on the conditions she faced in prison after being released this week. Mo spent four years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to subvert state power in 2022 and said her experience had been “Kafka-esque.”
“Many thanks for all the concern and care expressed upon my release. Prison life was surreal, almost Kafka-esque to start with. But I didn’t suffer the two major incarceration traumas, loneliness and boredom, thanks to the social arrangements inside,” Mo said in a post on Facebook.
Mo was one of four prisoners released who formed a part of the group known as the Hong Kong 47. In November last year, 45 of 47 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures were sentenced to serve prison time for their parts in organizing unofficial pre-election primaries to choose the best candidates in 2020 local elections. The four now released were let out because they had been in prison since their initial arrests in 2021 and thus had already served their full sentences.
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