Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, who headed towards Canada whilst free on bail, conveys that she will not be coming back to home amid a crackdown that hindered her freedoms, defying a warning from Hong Kong’s governer that she would be pursued for life. Chow said that she encountered immense scrutiny from authorities for many years and that with her passport confiscated, she continuously lived in terror and had to keep her mouth shut. “I feel like I was forced to stay in such kind of intense atmosphere that I couldn’t escape,” said Chow, who spoke from Toronto, where she has been for three months.
“In consideration of the political situation in Hong Kong and my personal health, my mental health, my physical health, and the high political danger of not being permitted to leave Hong Kong again, I’ve decided not to go back.” Chow was released from prison in June 2021 after being being in prison for unauthorised assembly. But a separate allegation of collusion with foreign forces under a China enforced national safety law meant her passport was confiscated, her movements closely seen, and she had issues getting a full-time job, opening a bank account or renting an apartment.