The stepfather of Hong Kong democracy activist Tony Chung Han-lam, who is in exile in the UK, was recently interrogated by Hong Kong’s national security police.
On the morning of March 18, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police took Chung’s stepfather away in the Ho Man Tin district. At noon on the same day, he was allowed to leave the West Kowloon Police Headquarters.
Chung posted on social media platform X on the same day, “All’s fine, no worries,” and called on the British government to take a tougher stance against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Hong Kong government’s suppression of Hongkongers living in the UK.
Chung said the CCP and the Hong Kong government have continued to threaten Hong Kong exiles in Australia and the UK in recent days, but he believes that “all Hong Kongers who are wanted with bounties on their heads will absolutely not be afraid or back down.”
While Chung’s relatives were investigated by the national security police, mysterious flyers appeared in Australia offering bounties for Hong Kong democrat Kevin Yam, who is also wanted by the Hong Kong government. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and opposition leader Peter Dutton strongly condemned the incident.
Chung was the founder of the now-disbanded Hong Kong student organization Studentlocalism. After the CCP implemented the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, Chung was subsequently arrested and sentenced to three years and seven months in prison in 2021 on charges of inciting secession and money laundering. At the age of 20, Chung was the youngest person convicted under the National Security Law.
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Chung was released from prison in June 2023, traveled to Japan in the same year, and then fled to the UK to seek political asylum. After leaving Hong Kong, he said that he had to meet with the national security police frequently after he was released from prison and was forced to provide information about other democracy activists.
In December 2024, the Hong Kong police put him on a wanted list with a bounty of HK$1 million (US$130,000) on suspicion of inciting secession and “colluding with foreign forces.”
Since the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, the Hong Kong government has issued wanted warrants for at least 19 Hong Kong residents now staying overseas.
In recent months, the national security police have frequently detained relatives, friends, and even colleagues of wanted Hongkongers for investigations.
In January this year, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI) where the wanted scholar Chung Kim-wah once worked, was searched by the national security police.
HKPORI chairperson Robert Chung Ting-yiu was detained twice, together with two other staff members, for investigation.
In February this year, the aunt and uncle of former district councilor Carmen Lau Ka-men were taken to the police station for investigation.
