Hong Kong nat. security police take in 3rd relative of wanted activist Carmen Lau to assist investigation

Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong police have taken in a third relative of ex-district councillor Carmen Lau, who has a HK$1 million bounty on her head for alleged national security law violations.

A female relative of Lau was brought to Tuen Mun Police Station on Monday morning to assist with an investigation into the activist who fled the city in 2021, local media reported citing sources.

On social media platform X, Lau said she learned that “another distant family member” was taken in for “interrogation” by the national security police.

HKFP has reached out to the police for confirmation.

The national security police brought Lau’s aunt and uncle to Sha Tin Police Station for questioning last Monday.

The activist, currently working with the US-based NGO Hong Kong Democracy Council, said last Tuesday that she “will not compromise.”

New warrants

Lau – a member of the now-disbanded Civic Party – was among six Hongkongers named in a fresh round of arrest warrants last December, with HK$1 million bounties offered for information leading to their arrests.

wanted posters activists national security law — Posters for activists wanted under the national security law inside the Western Police Station. Photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.

She stands accused of inciting secession and colluding with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.

The other five wanted individuals were activist Tony Chung, former pollster Chung Kim-wah, ex-TVB actor Joseph Tay, journalist Victor Ho, and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung – the youngest activist wanted by Hong Kong authorities.

Hong Kong authorities issued the first round of arrest warrants in July 2023. The announcement last December brought the total number of wanted activists for alleged national security offences to 19.

National security law — A national security law advertisement in an MTR station. File photo: GovHK.

Police have called on the activists to return to Hong Kong and surrender themselves. At the same time, officers have been taking in the relatives and colleagues of those activists for questioning.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.