In a recent development, former deputy secretary-general of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy group Demosisto, Agnes Chow, who is currently studying in Toronto, Canada, announced on Dec. 3 via social media that she has decided not to return to Hong Kong to report to the national security police.
Ms. Chow was arrested by Hong Kong National Security Police in connection with the case of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and is on bail pending trial. Ms. Chow left Hong Kong to study in Canada in September and was scheduled to report to the Hong Kong police in December. On her 27th birthday, she announced through social media that after careful consideration and taking into full account the situation in Hong Kong, her safety, and her physical and mental health, “I decided to not return to report [to the police], and probably I won’t return for the rest of my life,” she wrote.
Ms. Chow was a former spokesperson of the activist group Scholarism, and then a leader of the Hong Kong Demosisto Party together with Joshua Wong, and others. She was known as the “Goddess of Scholarism” and is fluent in Japanese. She has been to Japan to participate in activities such as discussion forums on Hong Kong’s political situation and media and has a certain reputation in Japan.
On Aug. 10, 2020, she was arrested by the Hong Kong National Security Police in connection with the case of former Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai. On Dec. 2, 2020, she was sentenced to 10 months in jail for “inciting others to participate in unauthorized assemblies” and other crimes.
Ms. Chow revealed in her statement that her period of incarceration had left her worried that she would “not be able to come out of prison again.” “I always think about the house searches by the national security police, sentencing, being handcuffed, stripp[ed] naked, and being bodily searched by disciplinary officers,” she added.
Since her release on June 12, 2021, Ms. Chow has been required to report to national security police regularly, with her passport confiscated and her travel restricted. Every three months, the National Security Bureau requires her to sign a “Notice of Detention of Travel Documents.”
In the past few years since her release, she has not participated in any public activities and has not contacted her former friends. However, she still does not have the right to leave Hong Kong. She regularly reports to the National Security Police and is questioned by the police from time to time regarding her work, family, and overall relationship with other people, and was indirectly warned: you are still not free.
Every time she reported to the National Security Bureau, she was worried that she might be arrested again at any time. Even when she returned home, she always had flashbacks of the past. She worried whether the national security police would knock on the door one early morning, break the lock, gain access, and take her away again on a certain charge. She was terrified of these feelings every day. She could do nothing but cry, break down, tremble, and tell her friends about her fears.
Her symptoms became increasingly severe, and doctors later diagnosed her with anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.
Facing ongoing limitations on her freedom, Ms. Chow decided to enroll in a master’s program and apply to study in Canada. After receiving a conditional offer from a Canadian university, she applied to the Hong Kong National Security Police to leave the country, but was asked by them to sign a “letter of repentance,” admitting that she regretted participating in past democratic political activities and “will not interact with those people, including liaison with members of Scholarism and Demosisto.”
In July, she received a notice from the National Security Bureau that if she wanted to leave and study in Canada, she needed to go back to China with them. In August, escorted by five national security officers, she visited Shenzhen, where she was arranged to tour the “Reform and Opening Up Exhibition,” and Tencent’s headquarters. Following her return to Hong Kong, the National Security Bureau requested her to write a letter expressing gratitude for the arrangements that allowed her to understand the great development of the motherland.
Ms. Chow left Hong Kong in mid-September 2023 to start her study in Toronto. She was supposed to return to Hong Kong and report to the police for other national security charges at the end of December. But after careful consideration, including taking into full account the prevailing situation in Hong Kong, her own safety, physical and mental health, etc., she decided not to go back.
“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,” she wrote.
