Agnes Chow now Studying in Canada

Chow says she is now in Toronto studying a Masters

Former activist Agnes Chow Ting, 27, has revealed she is now in Toronto, but will not be returning to Hong Kong anytime soon for the sake of her mental health.

In social media posts on Sunday, Chow said she moved to Canada's largest city to study a Masters, but was suffering mental health issues after being under pressure awaiting trial on national security charges.

She had been released from jail over two and a half years ago after serving a seven-month sentence for a protest outside the Hong Kong Police headquarters in 2019. Chow was also among a group of nine who were charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law.

After being released she still met strict bail conditions that included reporting to police regularly and surrendering her passport. However, she was able to get her travel document back if she agreed to take part in what she described as a propaganda tour accompanied by national security police officers and sign a letter of "repentance".

"I did no public activities, had no political involvement, no contact with my former friends, I just waited in silence," she wrote on social media. "Regular check-ins for national security, partial disenfranchisement, emotional instability and the restrictions on my life as a (former) democratic politician, combined with endless waiting, my mental condition was getting worse."

She applied to a Masters program in Toronto, was accepted, though the national security police demanded a lot of information, from the course details, timetable, to accommodation, and also that she write a "repentance letter", stating she regretted her political activism and that she would never contact people in that field again.

But then in July the national security police said she needed to go on a tour to Shenzhen, which she apprehensively did in mid-August. During the five-day trip she was accompanied by national security police officers who took her to political exhibitions and the company headquarters of Tencent. All throughout the trip pictures were taken of her, perhaps as proof of her patriotism. 

While Chinese state security officers didn't question her, Chow said she felt she was being under surveillance the whole time. After the trip she was asked to write a thank you letter to the police for arranging it.

For this she finally received her passport the day before she left Hong Kong. Chow is supposed to return during school holidays, but has now decided against it, fearing she may not be able to leave the city again or more conditions would be placed on her.

"After careful consideration, including considering the situation in Hong Kong, my own safety, my physical and mental health, I decided not to go back, and will probably never go back for the rest of my life," she wrote. "I didn't have this intention in the beginning.

"I have felt for years how precious freedom from fear is. There are still a lot of unknowns in the future, but what can be known is that I finally don't have to worry about being arrested anymore and can say what I want to do."

One can imagine the Hong Kong national security police were not pleased to find out Chow wasn't coming back and released a statement without mentioning her by name.

"The police strongly condemn these irresponsible behaviours that blatantly challenge law and order," it said. "The police appeal to the person involved to step back from the cliff and not choose to take a path of no return and bear the name of 'fugitive' for the rest of her life."

Interesting to note the department did not refute her account of being forced to go on a propaganda trip to Shenzhen and write the letters of repentance and thanks. It did confirm she was granted travel documents to travel abroad and that she had been "cooperative" with the police's reporting requirements.

Guess this means no more studying abroad for others wishing to find a way to jump bail conditions...