Hong Kong Police Target Father of Canada-Based Activist for Questioning: Local Media

Hong Kong police have targeted the father of a pro-democracy activist living in Canada for questioning, according to local media. The B.C.-based democracy activist, Alan Keung Ka-wai, has been the subject of a $35,000 bounty by the Hong Kong police.

Keung’s father was questioned by Hong Kong authorities at the Tin Shui Wai Police Station on the morning of Aug. 13 to assist with an investigation, according to the South China Morning Post. Keung, who resides in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, is one of 19 overseas activists for whom Hong Kong issued arrest warrants last month.

He is wanted for his involvement in the Hong Kong Parliament, an exiled organization that advocates for self-determination and creation of a democratic charter for Hong Kong. Authorities have placed a HK $200,000 bounty (approximately CA$35,000) on his head, accusing him of “subversion.”

The Hong Kong Parliament recently held global elections to select its members for a four-year term, with Keung receiving the highest number of votes, according to the organization’s website. The candidates and newly elected members come from regions such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Keung reacted with sadness to reports that his father was questioned by authorities, but said in a social media post that he would “not resign” his term as an elected member of the Hong Kong Parliament.

Keung, founder of independent media outlet Free HK Media and known as “Pastor Keung,” was jailed in March 2023 for selling a so-called “seditious book” at a literary fair. He served an eight-month sentence.

‘Troubling Escalation’

Hong Kong authorities classified the wanted individuals into two groups when issuing the arrest warrants on July 25 for those involved in the Hong Kong Parliament. Nine were organizers, including Vancouver-based pro-democracy advocate Victor Ho, and the other 10 participated as candidates or were elected, including Keung.

The arrest warrants and bounties drew condemnation from the Canadian government, which described the move as an “attempt by Hong Kong authorities to conduct transnational repression abroad.”

“The announcement yesterday marks the third time that international bounties were issued by Hong Kong and represents a deeply troubling escalation in the use of transnational repression by the People’s Republic of China,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a joint statement with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.

“The actions taken by Hong Kong threaten the sovereignty of Canada and security of the people in this country.”

Gloria Fung, immediate past president of Canada-Hong Kong Link and co-convenor of the Canadian Coalition for a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry, says the arrest warrants and bounties, along with actions such as police summoning the relatives of targeted Hongkongers, are part of a transnational repression campaign by Beijing to create fear among the Hong Kong diaspora.

Fung told The Epoch Times that the National Security Law (NSL) implemented by the Chinese regime in 2020 “has been weaponized as a tool to silence Hongkongers who have fled out of Hong Kong.”

“Under NSL, people charged and convicted for subversion, secession or collusion with foreign power could be subject to life-long sentencing,” she said.

Fung noted that while not all Hong Kong pro-democracy supporters, herself included, endorse the Hong Kong Parliament, the international community should condemn Beijing’s use of warrants and bounties to conduct transnational repression.

Other Canadian pro-democracy activists have been targeted in the past. Earlier this year, local media reported that Hong Kong’s National Security Department had taken relatives of Conservative candidate Joe Tay to a police station for questioning.

Tay, founder of the democracy advocacy platform HongKonger Station, is the target of a HK$1 million bounty (nearly CAD$180,000) issued by Hong Kong authorities, who accuse him of two offences: “incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”

The targeting of Tay’s relatives was condemned by Conservative MP Garnett Genuis.

“It is gravely wrong. It is an act of brazen interference,” Genuis previously told The Epoch Times, referring to the measure taken by Hong Kong police.

“It’s also consistent with a pattern that we’ve seen from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is to try to interfere in our democracy, in our affairs, through whatever means they can.”