Teenage activist Yanni Ho was released unconditionally by Hong Kong police on Monday six months after her initial arrest for “inciting s...
Teenage activist Yanni Ho was released unconditionally by Hong Kong police on Monday six months after her initial arrest for “inciting secession” under the security law in July. Ho’s release marks the first time an individual arrested under the security law has been released unconditionally since the law’s promulgation last summer.
Ho, a former member of the pro-independence group Studentlocalism, was informed by the force that it will return her bail money and let her travel freely. “I! got! my! passport! back!” Ho wrote on her Facebook page. “[Officers] just told me that they will release me temporarily, meaning that I don’t have to report to the police regularly anymore.”
Police however told Ho they may re-arrest her at a later date. “But they said they can’t rule out that – when they gather enough evidence – they will arrest me again, lol,” her post read.
Ho was arrested twice last year by security law officers for allegedly “inciting secession” via social media posts. Three other ex-Studentlocalism members were also arrested over the same allegations. The group had moved its operations abroad shortly before Beijing’s passing of the security law.
Studentlocalism’s ex-convener Tony Chung — who was arrested with Ho — is currently remanded in custody after being charged for secession under the security law and two counts of money-laundering. He was separately sentenced to four months imprisonment last month for disrespecting the Chinese national flag.
Ho’s release comes after the mass arrests of 55 pro-democracy figures for alleged subversion under the security law earlier this month over their roles in the unofficial primary election for the democratic camp held last July. The city-wide roundup was decried by foreign governments and rights groups as a dramatic escalation in authorities’ crackdown on dissent and democratic values in the city.
In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into city’s mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, foreign interference and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to public transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China.
COMMENTS