Two MPs and a group of Canadians with heritage and family ties to Hong Kong are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly to respond and publicly oppose the Hong Kong government’s action.
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The former editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily, once one of Canada’s largest Chinese-language newspapers, says it was surreal to learn that the Hong Kong government had named him a wanted man for allegedly subverting state power.
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“How did we suddenly get to a place where I’ve become a fugitive… just because I was talking about a political concept that may or may not actually materialize?” said Victor Ho, who lives in Richmond.
On July 27, Ho joined other activists at a press conference in Toronto to announce the formation of an electoral organizing committee for a Hong Kong “parliament in exile” that would oppose the continued crackdown on political freedoms by part of Beijing.
A week later, the Hong Kong government security bureau said on its website that it “severely condemns” Ho and two others at the news conference and that, based on Hong Kong’s National Security Law, ” the police will spare no effort to prosecute cases in… in order to bring offenders to justice.”
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Two parliamentarians and a group of Canadians with ties to Hong Kong are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly to publicly oppose the Hong Kong government’s action.
“We find this seriously concerning. Mr. Ho is a Canadian citizen living in Canada. This is an intrusion on Mr. Ho’s legal rights, and any application of the National Security Act is a direct attack on this fundamental freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression and assembly protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” , wrote. Heather McPherson, MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, and Jenny Kwan, MP for Vancouver-East.
“It is up to Canada to make sure that it is not harassed by individuals in any way,” said Yves Tiberghien, a professor of political science at the University of BC. “That may be more important than any big statement, given that Canada and its allies have legal rights. He said that he does not recognize the National Security Law and its extraterritorial claim.”
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The Chinese-Canadian Concern Group on Human Rights Violations of the Chinese Communist Party said in a letter that “as Victor may be the first Canadian to be targeted by the Hong Kong government for comments made in Canada, we request that the Government of Canada take a strong stand in defense of the rights and freedoms of our citizens.”
The groups said they are relieved that Canada has suspended its extradition agreement with Hong Kong since the National Security Law was implemented, but are “still alarmed that a Canadian citizen who exercises freedom of expression and freedom of association in our country can land”. on the Hong Kong government’s wanted list.
Sitting at a picnic table outside the Richmond Oval on Monday, Ho said he wasn’t sure what the implications were of being named to that list. He has not been contacted by either the Hong Kong or Canadian governments. It was friends who alerted him via social media after seeing his Chinese name on the Hong Kong government website.
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“We are Chinese Canadians in Canada and now we have to refrain from joining such a conceptual exercise related to Hong Kong. When we got here, we thought we could live in an open society without fear. Now, you have to be afraid, because they are saying that (the National Security Law) applies all over the world. I am not afraid myself, but I have relatives who are,” she said.
“And do you have a plan? And how will they catch me? It’s that they wait for me to come back and then they tell me: ‘You’re on a blacklist’, and they take me to a room and they search me. Is it going to be like this? Or if not, are they going to send an agent? This must be asked of the Hong Kong government.”
Ho finds the quick and harsh reaction curious as, “It’s not like there are concrete plans like what city this (parliament in exile) would be in or anything like that.”
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His idea was inspired by record turnout in local elections in Hong Kong in 2019, and also by a Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, India, and the World Uygur Congress, which was established in Munich in 2004 to represent Tibetan interests. of the Uygur people in eastern Turkistan or Xinjiang and abroad, Ho said.
He added that while the committee will continue to organize, perhaps the Hong Kong authorities have “overestimated our movement. Who knows if it could overcome the security issues so people could vote online? Who knows if it would work?
In the meantime, however, being on the wanted list has given their effort a profile and encouraged more Hong Kongers in other areas of the world to contact them, Ho said.
