Spotlight on Anna Kwok and her parents, thanks to the Hong Kong national security police

  

They are trying to silence you but stay strong!

 

I met up with a friend at a cafe that's part of the Yellow Economic Circle yesterday afternoon.  On the whole, we had an enjoyable time; this even though our conversation covered subjects that made my friend want to tear up (in sorrow, as opposed to laughing too hard). And by the time we parted, I was in a better mood than when when I had set out to meet her; seeming as just minutes before I left my place, I received a message from a fellow Yellow Economic Circle supporter revealing that she had recently joined the exodus and left Hong Kong.

 

The good mood vanished soon after I got home and checked the news though.  Specifically, I was upset to learn that the Hong Kong national security police had taken in "the parents of U.S.-based democracy activist Anna Kwok for questioning, in the latest in a series of moves targeting the relatives of eight prominent overseas activists wanted under a draconian national security law, according to a London-based rights group."

 

For the record: Anna Kwok is the executive director of the U.S.-based political lobby group, the Hong Kong Democracy Council.  At 26 years of age, she is the youngest of the eight Hong Kong activists who have had a HK$1 million bounty placed on their heads by the Hong Kong government and who Hong Kong Chief Executive "John Lee has vowed to pursue the eight activists for the rest of their lives."

 

As the Radio Free Asia article that came out yesterday noted: "So far, police have targeted the relatives of former pro-democracy lawmakers Nathan Law and Dennis Kwok, U.S.-based businessman Elmer Yuen and U.K.-based veteran labor activist Christopher Mung, also known as Mung Siu-tat."  So it was not unexpected that the police would target the relatives of a fifth individual on that list -- but still surely very upsetting.  (I mean: I'm not related to any of them and I'm already felt emotionally impacted by this development!  So imagine if one were!)

 

So it was understandable that Anna Kwok did not immediately issue a statement about the police having taken in her parents for questioning.  But when she finally did so this morning, she did so incredibly impressively.  The following is the first part of a long thread she posted on Twitter (or X, as its owner wants it to be called) in Traditional Chinese followed by the English translation:

回應政權帶走父母：面對恐懼的抉擇 香港族群由每一個人組成，每個人由每個選擇而成。我們繼續堅持一直選擇自由。不悔不忘，堅定己志。 (以下為回應全文)

 

Responding to Regime Taking Parents Away: Choices in the Face of Fear The Hong Kong ethnic group is made up of everyone, and everyone is made of each choice. We continue to insist on freedom of choice all the time. Don't regret, don't forget, be firm in your will. (The following is the full text of the response)

And if you have access to Twitter, I highly recommend that you read the entire thread.  And if you don't: here's reporting that she apologises to her parents but also states her determination to continue doing what she thinks is right.  

 

As reported on by AFP, Anna Kwok stated that: "Yesterday my parents were questioned, harassed and intimidated. Even though I feel apologetic, I must say this is a price I expected to pay".  Also: "Kwok said she would continue to resist and called on Hong Kongers to confront fears stemming from the political environment.  "I choose to overcome my fear and continue to seize the initiative for my life," she said."

 

Something else reported by the AFP (which had not been made clear in some other reports): "Kwok's parents were allowed to leave the police station after questioning on Tuesday and were not arrested".  Thank goodness for small mercies.  And I hope that they and their daughter -- someone that a government that's genuinely of the people would be proud to have representing the people (rather than be intent on hunting her down, and causing harm to her and her family) -- can, and will, stay strong.