Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow skips bail, refuses return
Al JazeeraDec 02, 2023
Hong Kong Activist Agnes Chow Forgoes Bail, Stays in Canada
story
Image copyright: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
27-year-old Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow posted on social media Sunday night that she would violate her bail conditions and not return to the city over fears for her safety. Chow first received a 10-month jail sentence — under China's national security law implemented the prior year — in 2020 for participating in an unauthorized assembly.
Chow was a spokesperson for the now-defunct group Scholarism during the 2012 anti-national education protests and a founding member of the Demosisto political party alongside Joshua Wong and Nathan Law. In 2018, she renounced her British citizenship to run for Hong Kong's Legislative Council, though her candidacy was disqualified; she was arrested the next year during the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
Freedom fighters like Agnes Chow have risked their lives for years in pursuit of exposing the authoritarian tendencies of Beijing and its proxy politicians in Hong Kong. Beijing's reach goes far beyond its borders — having previously issued overseas warrants and questioned dissidents' family members — which is why Chow still fears for her life despite living in Canada.
Pro-China narrative
So-called activists like Chow are not fighting for the people of Hong Kong but rather jeopardizing their national security. Young people need to understand that these protesters were traitors who put the safety of the territory at risk. While treasonous exiles work to undermine their home country from abroad, Beijing and Hong Kong are working to educate young generations on how not to fall under the same subversive spell.
