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Since the national security law was implemented, Hong Kong police have issued a series of international arrest warrants for individuals residing abroad. So far, none of the 34 individuals placed on the wanted list have been turned in. Nevertheless, they are under intense pressure, even if they live in a democratic country like Canada, as alleged transnational repression by China spreads.
Tay and five other pro-democracy activists living abroad -- Tony Chung Hon-lam, Chung Kim-wah, Carmen Lau Ka-man, Victor Ho Leung-mau and Chloe Cheung Hei-ching -- were charged under the law and subjected to bounties the same day. Tay, who spoke out via his online platform HongKonger Station, is accused of inciting secession and for colluding with foreign forces, two of the four crimes that became punishable under the vaguely worded law. The two others are subversion and terrorist activities.
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"Transnational repression is not only real, but aggressive and sophisticated," Tay said. According to the couple, relatives who still live in Hong Kong were also affected, as Tay's cousin and his wife were taken in by the police and asked to assist with the investigation against Tay.
Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, a former pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker who was placed on the wanted list and hit with an HK$1 million bounty before Tay, has also felt the heat in Canada. Despite being a Canadian citizen, Kwok told Nikkei in Tokyo in late October that he has moved to the U.S. with his family because he feels safer there.
Kwok was virtually forced to flee Hong Kong in November 2020, and became stateless at one point, as his passport was canceled by the city. He was subsequently able to reinstate his Canadian citizenship, which he had surrendered to run for office in Hong Kong in 2016.
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Explaining the situation in Canada, Kwok said that many "in the Chinese community have been reading up a lot of pro-Beijing propaganda news." This, he said, has "colored" their views. He argued that unlike in the U.S., "United Front" activities promoting Chinese influence and interests have been "very successful for decades" in Canada.
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For the "first time, democratic countries feel that authoritarian regimes are reaching into their own territories, affecting what [their own] citizens can do within their own borders," said Kwok, who has co-founded a think tank in the U.S. called the China Strategic Risks Institute. Whether the pressure is coming from China, Russia or Iran, he believes such campaigns have given democratic policymakers a wake-up call.
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Kwok called on Western governments to do more. "You're talking about democracy activists, dissidents, that are residing lawfully in those countries, that are [under] direct pressure," he said. "We need a lot of policy response in that respect."