Agnes Chow Ting, a former Hong Kong pro-democracy group leader who now lives in exile in Canada, said Beijing-controlled Hong Kong authorities asked her to spy for them.
Ms. Chow, 27, known as the “Goddess of Scholarism,” was a former spokesperson for the activist group Scholarism and a leader of the Hong Kong Demosisto Party, along with Joshua Wong.
In August 2020, under the Hong Kong National Security Act, she was arrested in connection with the case of former Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai. In December 2020, she was sentenced to 10 months in jail for “inciting others to participate in unauthorized assemblies” and other crimes due to involvement in the anti-extradition law amendment bill (ELAB) movement in 2019.
Since the national security law was enacted in Hong Kong in 2020, the city has seen a significant erosion of the freedoms promised by the Chinese communist regime when the former British territory was handed over in 1997. Authorities have suppressed protests, imprisoned pro-democracy activists, and banned gatherings, including the annual Tiananmen Square massacre vigil.
“After I told the police that I would like to go to Canada for my post-graduate studies, they asked me a lot about everything … About my family, about my income, about where I live, about my friends, about my past political party, and my political connections,” she said in the program.
“They asked me if was I willing to provide information of other overseas activists to them after arriving in Toronto.”
While worrying that she would not be able to go to Canada if she refused and being very scared at the time, Ms. Chow still refused to report such information to them.
The former student activist was later forced to visit a Reform and Opening Exhibition in Shenzhen to get her passport back and to write a letter of repentance.
“Hong Kong is no longer a city with rule of law … Hong Kong is definitely getting closer and closer to mainland China,” she said.
When asked if she would continue to be a civil rights activist, Ms. Chow did not give a direct answer, but only said that her experience in the past few years had made her realize the importance of freedom and she would help people from all over the world know the current situation of Hong Kong.
“In the coming future what I want to do is to say what I want to say, to do what I want to do, just to enjoy my freedom,” she said.
After Ms. Chow announced in 2023 that she would not return to Hong Kong, the city’s chief executive, John Lee Li Ka-chiu, accused her of betraying and threatened to pursue her “for life unless they turn themselves in.”
“I can’t say I’m not worried at all,” she said when asked about the Hong Kong authorities want. She added that the CCP has many overseas police officers around the world, which triggers her concern about personal safety.
However, Ms. Chow decided not to apply for political asylum in Canada. As for the future, she said she had no plans for the time being as her student visa would not expire until the middle of next year.
Ms. Chow graduated from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the Hong Kong Baptist University in 2020 after six years and two interruptions. The young activist, ended the interview with a message to the audience.
“Now I understand how important freedom is for me and for everyone living in the world,” she said. “Don’t take freedom as granted.”
