Hong Kong police hit out at opposition activist Agnes Chow for failing to return from Canada, report as part of bail conditions

Report date for Agnes Chow, now in Toronto, had been set for Thursday as part of Hong Kong police bail conditions
She angered authorities earlier by announcing on social media that she would never return, with source warning bounty could be placed on her head for failing to report

Hong Kong courts

Brian Wong

Published: 7:30am, 28 Dec 2023

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Hong Kong police condemned opposition activist Agnes Chow Ting for failing to report to them on Thursday, a breach of bail conditions following her departure to Canada.

Chow, 27 and studying for a master’s degree in Toronto, had said she was required to check in with police under the conditions imposed by the force’s national security unit.

The former student leader and founding member of now-disbanded political party Demosisto earlier this month angered Hong Kong and Beijing authorities when she said on social media she would never return to the city.

The force said she failed to appear at a police station at a specified time on Thursday, and hit out at her decision to jump bail.

Photos of five fugitives presented by police. A source says the sanctions against Chow could include a bounty being placed on her head, as has happened with other opposition figures. Photo: Sam Tsang

“Endangering national security is a very serious offence,” a police spokesman told the Post. “Fugitives should not have any delusion that they can evade legal liability by absconding from Hong Kong. Fugitives will be pursued for life unless they turn themselves in before it is too late to have regrets.”

Police said she was on bail over suspected collusion with a foreign country or external elements endangering national security.

Chow earlier highlighted Hong Kong’s political situation, fears for her safety and a deterioration in her mental health as justification.

Beijing warning after Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow says she’s living in Canada

Chief Superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah had warned that police would declare Chow a fugitive and apply for a court warrant for her arrest if she breached her bail conditions.

A police source added a cash bounty could also be offered for Chow’s capture for failing to report.

The force has so far offered HK$1 million (US$128,000) bounties on 13 opposition fugitives accused of violating the Beijing-decreed national security law, drawn up to outlaw acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Hong Kong-based family members of the fugitives have been detained for questioning after the police announcements.

City residents have also been arrested on suspicion of sponsoring the wanted activists.

Chow earlier revealed she had been given permission to leave the city in September to study abroad.

She said that, to get her passport returned, she had to write a repentance letter to disown her earlier political involvement and promise to sever ties with her former allies.

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She added she was also required to make a patriotic visit to neighbouring Shenzhen under police surveillance.

The Security Bureau and police have not confirmed or denied Chow’s account, but Superintendent Li has said there were no hard-and-fast rules for bail and that individual needs had to be considered.

Chow has been on HK$200,000 bail (US$25,607) since August 2020, when national security police arrested her on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces over statements she is alleged to have posted on social media.

She was jailed for 10 months in December that year on a separate charge linked to her role in a 15-hour siege of the police headquarters in Wan Chai during the 2019 anti-government protests.

Chow kept a low profile after her release from prison in June 2021, but was required to report to police every three months as part of bail conditions related to the national security investigation.

She said she still required regular medication for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety as a result of her treatment.

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