Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow arrested under national security law

Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow (left), alongside Joshua Wong, then of the Demosisto political party, give a news conference in 2019. | BLOOMBERG

AFP-JIJI, REUTERS, STAFF REPORT
AUG 10, 2020

HONG KONG – Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Agnes Chow was arrested late Monday under China’s new national security law, a police source and a statement on her verified Facebook account said.

“It’s now confirmed that Agnes Chow has been arrested for ‘inciting secession’ under the national security law,” her Facebook account said.

A police source confirmed that Chow was among 10 people arrested on Monday in a national security investigation.

The national security operation saw media mogul Jimmy Lai and other senior executives at his Apple Daily newspaper detained. Police said they arrested nine men and one woman, aged between 23 and 72.

Chow, who speaks fluent Japanese and is popular in Japan, was among a group of prominent pro-democracy activists who earlier this year urged Tokyo to rethink a planned visit to the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit was originally set for March and has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The comments came amid international criticism of the national security law, which was then still in the planning stages.

“We … hope that Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe … and the Japanese government can think twice about whether they really need to invite President Xi to Japan,” Chow said at the June news conference.

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