Reuters Videos
STORY: Agnes Chow, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists who was later jailed, said on Sunday she had left for Canada and “probably won’t return [to Hong Kong] for the rest of [her] life.” The 27-year-old had worked alongside other young activists, including Joshua Wong, to help drive Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Their group, Demosisto, dissolved hours after China passed a sweeping national security law for the city in 2020. Chow said on her social media late on Sunday that she had left Hong Kong for studies in Canada, adding it was for her mental well-being. Her announcement was her first public comment since her release from prison in June 2021. They detailed how she had remained under “supervision” from authorities.Chow was sentenced to 10 months behind bars in November of 2020 over an unauthorized assembly charge. She was also accused of breaking the national security law, her passport was confiscated and she was required to regularly check in with police as part of a bail condition. She said in her posts that pressure from authorities led her to be diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. She also said she was accepted by a university in Toronto this year and that the police agreed to return her passport if she made a visit to the Chinese city of Shenzhen. “I was forced to go to mainland China in exchange for the opportunity to study abroad, ” she wrote.Chow was due to report to Hong Kong’s security police this month but decided not to return out of consideration for her personal safety and well-being, she said. Early on Monday, Reuters could not reach Chow, who arrived in Canada in September, for comment. Hong Kong police on Monday condemned Chow’s “irresponsible behaviors that blatantly challenge law and order" and urged her not to be a fugitive for the rest of her life.