Hong Kong police have defended their decision to question at least ten family members and associates of overseas democracy activists wanted for national security crimes, saying that the probes are part of routine law enforcement procedures.
In a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), deputy police commissioner Andrew Kan said that the police had investigated the Hong Kong-based associates of those targeted by the bounties, emphasizing that gathering intelligence from individuals linked to fugitives was standard practice.
“We brought in their family and friends to assist our investigation,” Kan said.
Authorities in December placed bounties on six pro-democracy figures living abroad for allegedly violating the Chinese city’s national security laws.
The move was met with international criticism, with the United States calling it “transnational repression.”
The latest wave of questioning saw the aunt and uncle of London-based activist Carmen Lau taken from their Hong Kong home on Monday morning. They were later seen leaving a police station after a few hours.
“The national security apparatus has now extended its reach to my extended family… This is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate Hong Kongers,” Lau wrote on social media platform X.
Since January 13, national security police have confirmed to AFP on six occasions that they have “brought individuals to police stations” as part of ongoing investigations. Among those questioned were the wife, son, three siblings, and three former colleagues of former pollster Chung Kim-wah.
Most individuals were released within hours, and no arrests have been made. None of them have publicly commented on their situation, as the national security law requires those who “assist with the handling of a case” to follow confidentiality rules.
‘Targeting friends and family’
Political dissent in Hong Kong has been significantly curtailed since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020, following massive pro-democracy protests the previous year.
Authorities have issued bounties on a total of 19 overseas democracy advocates since 2023 and have arrested or jailed numerous opposition figures in the city. The bounties, however, are seen as largely symbolic, as they target individuals residing in countries unlikely to extradite political activists to Hong Kong or China.
The US-based Hong Kong Democracy Council criticized the latest developments, stating that China is “significantly expanding the scope of its well-worn tactic of targeting friends and family of dissidents.”
Both Lau and Chung have stated that they have severed ties with former associates still living in Hong Kong.
Chung was previously an executive at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI), one of the city’s last independent polling organizations. The institute conducted polls on government popularity, political identity, and views on the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown—topics considered highly sensitive in both Hong Kong and mainland China.
In response to concerns over political motivations, Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang told AFP in January that the questioning of Chung’s former colleagues had “absolutely nothing to do with the results of (the group’s polls).”
Shortly after, HKPORI announced that it had suspended all self-financed research activities, citing “various technical reasons.”
