'Unless Chow Ting surrenders, she will be hunted for life': HKSAR CE John Lee
By Published: Dec 05, 2023 12:00 PM Updated: Dec 05, 2023 01:04 PM
Photo: Agnes Chow Ting
Unless anti-government figure Chow Ting surrenders and turns herself in, she will be hunted for life, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday, emphasizing that the Hong Kong police will fully pursue any criminal who endangers national security.
In a press conference ahead of the Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Lee said Chow is a fugitive suspected of colluding with foreign forces. Unless she surrenders herself, the HKSAR government will pursue her relentlessly for the rest of her life, Lee said.
Chow said on Sunday that she has no plans to return to Hong Kong despite being required to report to the police in December as part of a national security investigation.
Lee criticized Chow, a former core member of a now disbanded group of young anti-government figures including Joshua Wong Chi-fung, calling her actions a betrayal of trust and an attempt to garner sympathy through fabrications.
"Law enforcement officers tried to deal with her leniently, but their goodwill was met with deceit, which is the most disappointing thing," Lee said, noting that authorities will review the matter.
Chow applied for a university in Canada earlier this year and requested for approval to leave Hong Kong. She was then asked to write letter of apology, promising that she will not participate in political movements or make contact with relevant individuals.
After she met certain requirements of the police, Chow obtained a passport in September and left Hong Kong to Toronto, Canada, local media reported.
As Chow wrote in social media reports, those requirements included a visit to Shenzhen, a Chinese mainland city neighboring Hong Kong, and a letter of apology. Lee said on Tuesday that he won't comment on the details of the case, and will leave it to the law enforcement authorities.
Chow is suspected of colluding with foreign forces and becoming a foreign agent, serving as a reminder to Hong Kong residents on the influence of the foreign forces on the city and their national security threat.
Lee also warned that the influence of foreign forces should not be overlooked, as "their interference in Hong Kong affairs for political gain has never ceased." He also mentioned the wounds of the 2019 black-clad riot in Hong Kong, saying "it caused us intense pain, so much so that it was hard to sleep."
Lee also emphasized that authorities should advance at full speed to implement legislation associated to Article 23 and ensure that it can be completed in 2024.
Article 23 of the Basic Law stipulates that the HKSAR government shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition or subversion against the central government. While the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong is a big umbrella that safeguards security in the HKSAR, more detailed security protections are needed from Article 23, experts said.
"Law enforcement officials probably underestimated the value of Chow to external forces and the negative impact of letting her leave Hong Kong," Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
It is too early to say that Chow has no influence overseas, because she is one of the anti-government groups' leaders, especially as she knows Japanese, Lau noted.
"We cannot rule out that external forces think she still has political value and encourage her to abandon bail and abscond, and to become a tool for containing China," he said.
In particular, as the legislation of Article 23 is imminent, it is expected that the US and the West will use overseas Hong Kong people to launch a public opinion offensive and instigate dissatisfaction with the government among Hong Kong residents, Lau said.
The "value" of major anti-government figures who absconded to join foreign forces is unsustainable as the global political landscape changes, the expert said, noting that if they become useless one day, they will end up being abandoned overseas.
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