Chow, who performed a number one function within the 2019 pro-democracy protests, is the newest dissident to flee Beijing’s crackdown.
A outstanding Hong Kong activist who performed a number one function within the 2019 antigovernment protests has introduced she won’t return to town amid fears for her security.
Agnes Chow, who has been learning in Canada, introduced in a social media publish on Sunday evening that she won’t meet bail situations requiring her return. She is the newest political determine to flee Hong Kong as Beijing pursues a renewed crackdown on dissidents.
Chow, 27, was arrested in 2020 and acquired a 10-month jail sentence for collaborating in an unauthorised meeting. The costs got here below Beijing’s nationwide safety regulation, imposed by China in response to the widespread demonstrations the earlier yr.
She was launched on bail in 2021, after spending greater than six months in jail, on the situation she examine in with police repeatedly. Nonetheless, Chow mentioned in her publish that she is going to now not respect the requirement.
“A number of emotional diseases put my physique and thoughts in a really unstable state,” Chow mentioned within the publish.
Chow mentioned it was solely this yr, after she was accepted by a college in Toronto, that the police agreed to return her passport if she travelled to the Chinese language metropolis of Shenzhen. The journey included visits to Chinese language tech main Tencent and a “patriotic” exhibition on China’s achievements.
“I don’t need to be compelled to do something any extra, and I don’t need to be compelled to go to mainland China any extra,” she mentioned. “Perhaps I received’t return for the remainder of my life.”
In an announcement issued on Monday, Hong Kong police condemned Chow for “difficult the rule of regulation”.
“The police urge the particular person involved to tug again earlier than it’s too late, as a substitute of selecting a street with no return and bearing the identification of ‘fugitive’ for the remainder of her life,” the assertion mentioned.
Chow co-founded the now-defunct pro-democracy occasion Demosisto with fellow activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Regulation. Nonetheless, the occasion was disbanded on June 30, 2020, the identical day the nationwide safety regulation was enacted.
The enactment of the regulation has intensified the challenges for the pro-democracy motion, leading to greater than 280 arrests. Joshua Wong is at present in custody, dealing with a subversion cost that carries the potential of life imprisonment upon conviction.
Nathan Regulation sought refuge in the UK, and a reward of 1 million Hong Kong {dollars} ($127,600) was supplied by the police in July for info resulting in his apprehension.
Beijing contends that the regulation has restored stability to Hong Kong following the intensive pro-democracy protests in 2019.
