December 24, 2024 - Last night, I was woken up by dozens of people phoning and texting me. It turns out that the Hong Kong authorities held a press conference during which they named me and five others in a list of new people who now have HK$1 million bounties on their heads.
My ‘crime’ is to be an activist defending Hong Kong from the ongoing encroachment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) into all aspects of our lives.
I have not lived in Hong Kong for four years, having fled after the PRC-imposed National Security Law ended the city’s pro-democracy protests. This latest announcement is just another instance of transnational repression aimed at those who speak out against the Hong Kong authorities and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
As a teenage protester in 2019 and 2020, I faced tear gas and batons and bullets from the Hong Kong police. Today, in my adopted UK home, I’ve endured constant threats, both online and physical. But this didn’t stop me from speaking out and now I have a bounty on my head.
Fear cannot restrain me. Suppression cannot silence me. I will wear this burden with pride and without fear.
This should be the moment that the British government finally stands with the people of Hong Kong – especially those living in the UK – and takes some real action to protect us from transnational repression on British soil.
It is time for them to realise that their inaction in dealing with the CCP is having a real effect on people in the UK, and that their passive approach only emboldens the CCP and the Hong Kong authorities.
I want to thank my friends and colleagues for supporting me and, of course, I stand in full solidarity with all those other bountied Hong Kongers who continue to fight against this terrible injustice.
Chloe Cheung 張晞晴
December 24, 2024
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