Three siblings of wanted former pollster Chung Kim-wah have been taken in for questioning by national security police, local media has reported.
Chung Kim-wah. File photo: Supplied.
Two of Chung’s brothers and a sister were taken to police stations on Tuesday morning to assist a national security police investigation. Chung, who formerly worked at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) and is now based in the UK, has been accused of inciting secession and colluding with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
He was among six overseas Hongkongers added to a police wanted list in December. Police have offered HK$1 million for information that could lead to each of their arrests.
Tuesday morning’s questioning comes after Chung’s wife and son were last Tuesday taken to police stations last Tuesday. The previous day, PORI CEO Robert Chung was questioned and the pollster’s office was searched.
After the office raid, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the investigation had nothing to do with the institution’s polling work.
The wife of Hong Kong ex-pollster Chung Kim-wah leaves Tin Shui Wai Police Station after being brought in for questioning about her husband, who is on a wanted list for allegedly violating the national security law, on January 14, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
According to Chung’s wanted notice, the former pollster had “repeatedly advocated” Hong Kong independence on social media platforms between May and June last year. He also stands accused of requesting foreign countries to impose sanctions against China and Hong Kong from December 2020 to November 2023.
Chung announced in April 2022 that he had left the city for the UK, calling Hong Kong a place where one may “no longer live normally and without intimidation.” His contract with PORI ended later that month.
To date, Hong Kong national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 overseas Hongkongers on suspicion of committing national security offences. They include three ex-lawmakers, Ted Hui, Dennis Kwok and Nathan Law as well as activist Tony Chung, who completed a jail term for secession under the national security law before going to the UK in late 2023.
The Hong Kong Police Force emblem. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.
Following the issue of arrest warrants, police have typically taken their relatives who are still in Hong Kong in for questioning, though no family members have been arrested to date.
