March 31, 2025 – The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation condemns transnational repression and recent comments endorsing this form of interference by Canadian politician Paul Chiang.
During an election period, Chiang recently encouraged people to take up the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s bounty on Conservative candidate Joe Tay. On Christmas Eve 2024, Hong Kong police issued a third round of HK$1 million bounties and arrest warrants for China democracy advocates, including Tay, who is a co-founder of Canada-based NGO HongKonger Station and runs a YouTube channel advocating for democracy and free speech. Chiang’s comments that people should turn over Tay to the Chinese Consulate in exchange for financial reward are a dangerous endorsement of transnational repression and political interference.
Chiang has issued an apology, but his apology rings hollow after he suggested that Canadians kidnap a Conservative political candidate and deliver him to the People’s Republic of China. The CFHK Foundation has experienced this form of transnational repression firsthand: the Hong Kong government has also placed HK$1 million bounties and arrest warrants on the heads of two of our staffers, Frances Hui and Chloe Cheung.
The bounties and arrest warrants are part of an ongoing global attempt by the CCP to interfere in open societies, stifle people’s freedoms around the world, and destabilise democracies. Neighbours of Hong Kong activists residing in the UK and Australia have received letters offering rewards in exchange for turning them over to the Chinese embassy.
The CFHK Foundation is proud to stand alongside other Hong Kong groups supporting a joint letter against transnational repression. The CFHK Foundation has met dozens of politicians over the last year, and we know Canada is united against CCP interference. We are delighted that champions of freedom and democracy are standing up to counter foreign interference, and we will continue to work with friends and partners in Canada’s House of Commons and Senate.
CFHK Foundation Strategy & Public Affairs Advisor Shannon Van Sant said:
“As someone who works in Canada to pursue freedom for Hong Kongers, this is a disgraceful move. The Chinese Communist Party and other authoritarian regimes use transnational repression to scare democracy advocates into silence, and all political leaders should condemn these efforts. The Hong Kong government’s issuance of bounties and arrest warrants on activists is a shameless attempt at interference, and we are outraged that a Canadian politician would endorse this transnational repression against people seeking peace, comfort and freedom in a democratic country. Democracies need to build stronger safeguards countering foreign interference, and speaking out against transnational repression is a vital step.”
