Joey Siu, member of the World Liberty Congress’s Executive Council and a passionate human rights defender, has been issued an arrest warrant by the Hong Kong authorities, along with a HKD $1 million bounty on her head. She has been charged with “colluding with foreign forces,” along with four others: Frances Hui, Simon Cheng, Tony Choi, and Johnny Fok.
This is the second time this year that the Hong Kong police have issued bounties on human rights activists based overseas. They have weaponized the 2020 national security law, using vague statutes related to “terrorism,” “national security,” and “foreign collusion” as a means to target dissidents. This practice is commonly used by autocrats to target opponents, and is blatant transnational repression. The Hong Kong authorities are desperate to silence their critics.
Joey has been a member of the WLC community since the founding of the organization. She was forced to leave Hong Kong in 2019, due to her leadership and participation in the 2019 pro-democracy Anti-Extradition Bill Movement, which protested against the encroachment of the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong and the erosion of civil liberties and the rule of law. She remains a vocal advocate for human rights and democracy not only in Hong Kong, but around the world.
This arrest warrant against Joey, a U.S. citizen, is another apparent act of the Chinese Communist regime’s transnational repression against dissidents on American soil. The United States (U.S.) government has an obligation to protect Joey, and all other dissidents in the country, from foreign persecution. The WLC calls on the US government and the international community to swiftly condemn this attempt to silence and intimidate human rights defenders.
In response to the warrant, Joey said, “I will never be silenced and I will never back down.”
