Or is ‘living in Canada’, according to taste. From the BBC…
Ms Chow was jailed in 2020 for taking part in the anti-government protests of 2019, and was released in 2021.
She is still under investigation for “collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security”.
…in order to get her passport back, she had to go on a police-escorted trip to mainland China in August with five police officers – a trip she had no right to refuse.
…She said she was shown an exhibition of China’s achievements since the reform and opening up of China since the late 1970s…
…Ms Chow said when she returned to Hong Kong, she was also told to sign letters expressing remorse for all her past political actions, and also to thank the police for organising the trip, so that she could learn of “the motherland’s marvellous developments”.
…Ms Chow was one of the most prominent faces of the city’s pro-democracy movement and was even nicknamed “the real Mulan”, in reference to the legendary Chinese heroine who fought to save her family and country.
Media organizations shouldn’t make the story about themselves, but maybe this time it’s excusable…
In 2020, she was featured on the BBC 100 Women list, which names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year and tells their stories.
(Were the authorities seriously expecting her to eagerly come back? Or did someone think she would happily become a poster-child for patriotic re-education?)
This is what opposition looks like now: one-time pan-dem and former government official Anthony Cheung speaks out, saying let’s not go overboard on NatSec…
…authorities have to strike a balance between safeguarding security and maintaining a free and diversified society.
…[and] that Hong Kong should maintain its uniqueness and internationalization, and society should allow people to express different opinions.
There was no need to discuss everything at the level of national security, Cheung added, as this would undermine Hong Kong’s image if it took root in people’s minds.
He also says…
…Hong Kong has “slightly suffered” from reopening its border later than its neighbors.
…Cheung stressed the need to avoid extreme political divisions and adopt more open and inclusive policies.
A group of LSD members are searched while on a hike.
It seems one District Council candidate had previously been working at the Liaison Office…
Former Central and Western District Councillor Sam Yip Kam-lung (葉錦龍) pointed out that after doing community work for years he had never heard Law Kam Fai’s name. He suspects that Law’s experience as the deputy of a Liaison Office Sub-Office means he was directed to seek elected office by his central government employers and definitely has their backing.
The SCMP detects official concern about a low voter turnout at the District Council elections next Sunday. Asked how much it is spending to promote the polls, the government says…
…only that it would be more than the HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) spent on the 2021 Legislative Council polls…
Emeritus Professor John Burns, of the department of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, said such extensive publicity drives only generated more votes in “competitive races”.
“Real competition based on competing policy platforms in elections that have consequences for people’s lives tends to increase voter turnout,” he said. “These elements are mostly absent from our December 10 district council elections.”
Ming Pao reports that the government will offer cash and other help to elderly homes in transporting residents to polling stations.
Speaking of the SCMP, its former editor prays for missing reporter Minnie Chan.
How far do you think we are from family members of the exiled having their travel documents confiscated?
Government offering cash and other help to get oldies to vote? Obviously the Heung Yee Krooks have been giving the powers that be the benefit of their years of experience in these matters.
@dopey
Individual sanctions are fairly meaningless without secondary sanctions on immediate family members. If family members of the exiled are officially targeted, tit-for-tat retaliation is likely to follow, and the bad guys have a lot more to lose under such a scenario. Both sides know this. IMO, things will have to get a lot worse before the regime goes beyond their current lawfare and generalised harassment approach.
Agnes was allowed to leave to leave because of her high recognition status and popularity overseas, particularly in Japan. Indicates some very heavy sentences are planned for others facing the same charges that her fragile health might not have coped with.
Note the muted response in comparison to the usual hyperbole.
If Wang Xiangwei is praying for Minnie Chan, then he clearly does not believe a word of the SCMP’s claim that she is merely taking time off in Beijing to handle a ‘private matter’.
“(Were the authorities seriously expecting her to eagerly come back? ”
This reminds me of the case of Lam Wing-kee, a bookseller detained in China, but allowed to return to HK (in 2016) so that he could collect some evidence – which he would then take back to China. Were the authorities seriously expecting …?
Cultural stereotyping is unfashionable, but with both Chow and Lam there may have been a charade, with both sides complicit, which an observer might describe, with amusement and admiration, as “very Chinese”.
Can’t wait for Alex Lo to write his column condemning a Hongkonger for having the temerity to seek a better and safer life in Toronto
Maybe the headline above the picture of Agnes Chow would be more accurate if it read “Agnew Chow living in Canada, no plans on returning BECAUSE requirement to report back to police”
“Indicates some very heavy sentences are planned for others facing the same charges that her fragile health might not have coped with.”
Is she suffering from health problems? I am glad she is safe in Canada at least.
Is it fair to say that the NSL is a form of white terror?
“Can’t wait for Alex Lo to write his column condemning a Hongkonger for having the temerity to seek a better and safer life in Toronto”
Isn’t it always the most self righteously shrill, in the name of patriotism, that never see their own bald faced hypocrisy?
The funny thing is that her skipping bail has just made the future conditions/constraints for her fellow protesters (jailed and those awaiting trial) much, much worse. During the riots, I seemed to remember hearing a lot of “we are in this fight together”. With Ms Chow, it doesn’t appear to be the case right now. What a selfish person? Mind, that’s what I’d expect from someone born in 1980 or more recently.
re Reactor #4: BOLLOCKS. Did pleading guilty make a significant difference in sentences? A few months in most cases.
22 Aug 2023 — Hong Kong top court rules guilty pleas cannot reduce jail terms below 5 years min. for ‘serious’ security law offences.
This is a damned you do, damned you don’t scenario
Handing over passports and giving permission to travel has as much to do with granting bail, as snide commenters have to do with the success of protesters having their demands heard – exactly as much as you imagine!