Hong Kong pro-democracy activist flees to Canada—CCP officials say they will pursue her for life

Jarryd Jaeger

“I finally don’t have to worry about whether or not I’ll be arrested, and I can say what I want to say, do what I want to do.”

A prominent pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong who fled to Toronto while on bail after spending time in jail for organizing “unauthorized assembly” during the 2019 protests has vowed to never return to her home country.

Agnes Chow has instead opted to remain in Canada, where she has been studying for the past three months, to enjoy the freedom the nation offers. The move has angered the Chinese territory’s Communist Party-controlled government, who have since vowed to pursue her “for the rest of her life.”

“In consideration of the political situation in Hong Kong and my personal health, my mental health, my physical health, and the high political risk of not being allowed to leave Hong Kong again,” Chow told Reuters, “I’ve decided not to go back.”

On Instagram, she added that life in Canada had shown her what it was like to be “freed physically and mentally.”

“There are still a lot of unknowns in the future,” she said on an Instagram, per the National Post, “but [I] know that I finally don’t have to worry about whether or not I’ll be arrested, and I can say what I want to say [and] do what I want to do.”