A Hong Kong activist in exile in the US said a court ruling in Hong Kong to imprison her father for eight months has only made her more determined to fight for the territory and its people.
“I think obviously the [Hong Kong] government wants to use guilt, wants to use a lot of emotions to weight me down, but I’ve found my way to really find my calling in activism for Hong Kong,” said Anna Kwok (郭鳳儀), who is wanted in Hong Kong for her pro-democracy activism.
“So I’m not going to back down. I’m just going to be more strategic with more long-term thinking and be more dedicated to the Hong Kong cause,” she said.
Photo: AP
A Hong Kong court jailed her 69-year-old father, Kwok Yin-sang (郭賢生), for attempting to withdraw about US$11,000 from her insurance policy.
Her father bought the policy when she was a toddler, and she gained control of it when she reached the age of 18. Last year, he sought to terminate the policy and withdraw the money, the court heard. He was arrested and accused of trying to deal with funds belonging to an “absconder.”
Anna Kwok called the sentence “ridiculous” and said it brought home the personal costs of her activism.
“I did go through this journey of finding out what activism means to me, now with this added layer of... very real personal cost that is not faced by me, but faced by my family,” she said.
Kwok said she is no longer able to speak with her family and friends in Hong Kong, adding that she decided to do an on-camera interview to “show my family and people who care about me that I cannot really communicate with that I’m doing okay, please don’t worry too much about me.”
She added that she would not let the Hong Kong government succeed in burdening her with the guilt of putting her family at risk.
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