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HKFP
4 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong nat sec. police question 2 other relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay
Hong Kong national security police have brought in two other relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay for questioning – the second such occasion this month. Tay's cousin and her husband were brought to Tsing Yi Police Station for questioning on Thursday, local media reported. HKFP saw a man and a woman, both wearing caps and face masks, leave the police station in two private vehicles at around 11 am. In response to HKFP enquiries, police said its National Security Department interviewed two individuals on Thursday to 'assist in an investigation.' The case is still under investigation, and no arrests have been made so far, the force also said, without giving any details. Tay's other cousin and his wife were brought in by the police for questioning earlier this month. Tay, 62, currently based in Canada, is one of six overseas activists for whom police issued arrest warrants in December. He left Hong Kong in June 2020. Each wanted person has a HK$1 million bounty on their head for alleged national security violations. Tay is accused of incitement to secession and collusion with foreign forces. He allegedly operated a channel called 'HongKonger Station' between June 2020 and June 2024, where he published numerous videos to incite secession and called on foreign countries to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. Apart from Tay, 18 other overseas activists are wanted by the Hong Kong authorities, including former lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok, and former student leader Nathan Law. Police have brought in a number of the activists' family members for questioning, including the parents of US-based activist Frances Hui. In early May, police charged Anna Kwok's father, Kwok Yin-sang, with attempting to handle financial assets of an 'absconder.' He is the first family member of a wanted activist to be charged under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, more commonly known as Article 23. The 68-year-old stands accused of breaching the domestic security law by attempting to obtain funds from an AIA International life and personal accident insurance policy, with Anna Kwok, based in the US, listed as the insured person. He was granted bail by the High Court last week after being denied bail at a lower court. Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature.
HKFP
08-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong police take in relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay for questioning
Hong Kong police have taken in relatives of activist Joe Tay, who has a HK$1 million bounty on his head for alleged national security violations. Tay's cousin and the cousin's wife were brought from their home in Fo Tan to a police station on Thursday morning, according to local media. They were reportedly asked to assist in an investigation relating to Tay. HKFP has reached out to the police for comment. Tay, now based in Canada, is one of six overseas activists police issued arrest warrants for in December. He left Hong Kong in June 2020. The former TVB actor, 62, is accused of inciting secession and foreign collusion linked to operating an advocacy platform called HongKonger Station between July 2020 and June 2024. Tay ran in the Canadian legislative elections last month as a member of the country's Conservative Party. He emerged second in his district out of six candidates. 19 wanted activists A total of 19 overseas activists are wanted by Hong Kong national security police, including ex-student leader Nathan Law and lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok. Police are offering HK$1 million for information related to them. Officers have also taken in a number of the activists' family members for questioning as part of their investigations. Last week, police charged a relative of a wanted activist for the first time. Anna Kwok's father, Kwok Yin-sang, was said to have attempted to obtain funds from a life and personal accident insurance policy that belonged to her. Anna Kwok, the executive director of the US-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, is accused of foreign collusion. Kwok Yin-sang was remanded in custody pending trial. The activist's brother was also arrested but was not charged, local media reported. In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Canada MP quits election race over Chinese bounty comments
Canadian member of parliament Paul Chiang has quit as a Liberal Party candidate over comments he made suggesting a political rival should be turned over to the Chinese consulate in return for a bounty. Tay, who is running for the Conservatives in the 28 April federal election, is one of a number of overseas activists who have been targeted by Hong Kong police for allegedly breaking the city's national security law. Chiang said he is withdrawing from the race to avoid "distractions in this critical moment". Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who had previously defended Chiang, said on Tuesday he had accepted his candidate's resignation. "As I said yesterday, his comments were deeply troubling and regrettable," said Carney as he campaigned in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Liberal leader had said the day before that Chiang would stay on as the party's candidate in a Toronto-area riding given that he had apologised for the remarks, which were made earlier this year at a Chinese-language media event. Tay, who was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada as an adult, is co-founder of Canada-based nonprofit group HongKonger Station, which promotes democracy and free speech. Last December, Hong Kong police offered a HK$1m (C$184,000; $128,000) bounty for information leading to Tay's arrest, accusing him of incitement to secession and collusion with a foreign country. The Conservative candidate, who is also running for a Toronto area seat, rejected Chiang's apology and called for his firing. "His threatening public comments were intended to intimidate me, and they must not be tolerated," Tay said in a statement. Hong Kong national security law: What is it and is it worrying? Chiang announced he was stepping down in a social media post shortly after midnight, saying he had served with the "fullest commitment to keeping people safe and protecting our country's values". His resignation came after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told Canadian media the force is "looking into the matter". "Foreign actor interference, including instances of transnational repression, continues to be a pervasive threat in Canada," a spokesperson told Globe and Mail. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday criticised Carney for not removing Chiang when the comments came to light late last week. "Mr Carney will never put this country first, he will always put himself first," he said. Meanwhile, the Conservatives removed one of their candidates over comments made on a 2022 podcast, where he appeared to joke about former prime minister Justin Trudeau deserving the death penalty. Poilievre told CTV News, which first reported on the remarks, that they were "unacceptable". Five things to look for in Canada's election Trump looms over Canada's election as campaign begins
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Carney standing by candidate Paul Chiang, who suggested Conservative be turned over to China for bounty
Liberal Leader Mark Carney says Paul Chiang will remain a candidate under his banner, despite calls to ouster the Markham-Unionville incumbent for suggesting people turn in a Conservative candidate to the Chinese consulate and collect a bounty. "I view this a teachable moment," Carney said during a campaign stop in Vaughan, Ont., Monday. Carney is facing external pressure to drop Chiang after he told a Chinese-language media news conference in January that people they could cash in if they turned Joe Tay in to the Chinese consulate in Toronto. Tay is running for the Conservatives in the GTA battleground riding of Don Valley North. In December, Hong Kong police issued a bounty and arrest warrant for Tay — worth $1 million HK, roughly $184,000 — and other China democracy advocates. Tay is a co-founder of Canada-based NGO HongKonger Station and runs a YouTube channel that promotes democracy and free speech. The warrants are largely seen as a way for authorities in Beijing-controlled Hong Kong to target vocal critics based abroad. At the time, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly denounced the bounties. Carney called the comments "deeply offensive," but defended Chiang as a veteran police officer "with more than a quarter-century of service to his community." Tay is one of the voices urging Carney to turf Chiang, calling his comments "insidious" and saying he fears for his safety. "His threatening public comments were intended to intimidate me, and they must not be tolerated," Tay said in a statement Monday, weighing in for the first time since the story broke before the weekend. "They are intended to send a chilling signal to the entire community in order to force compliance to Beijing's political goals." Tay said even before Chiang's comments, he had been in touch with the RCMP about personal protection. "Suggesting that people collect a bounty from the Chinese Communist Party to deliver a political opponent to the Chinese Consulate is disgusting and must never be condoned," he wrote. Chiang's apology rejected Chiang, a former police officer, issued an apology Friday, saying his comments "were deplorable and a complete lapse of judgment on the seriousness of the matter." Carney said Chiang has apologized directly to Tay, who has made it clear he rejected the apology. Tay said Chiang made an "unsolicited attempt to contact me to discuss this matter" and apologize over the weekend. "I want to be clear: No apology is sufficient," said Tay. WATCH | Poilievre says Liberal MP must be disqualified following China bounty comments A coalition of 13 community groups representing Canadians of Hong Kong descent are also calling on Carney to revoke Chiang's candidacy. "The comments were widely seen as legitimizing foreign interference and potentially threatening Tay's safety," wrote the groups in a statement Sunday. "They stress that intimidation or threats against political candidates will not be tolerated and reaffirm Canada's commitment to protecting its democratic processes from foreign interference." Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it's "incredible" that Carney would allow someone to run for his party who had called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government. NDP candidate Jenny Kwan, who has been vocal about herself being a target of Chinese interference, called the comments "absolutely astounding." "That is intimidation at its worst, and yet he played right into it," she told reporters Sunday while campaigning with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in Port Moody, B.C. "In what universe is this normal?"
