Two Canadian Activists React to Bounties

Tay (bottom centre), Ho (bottom right) wanted by Hong Kong

Days after the Hong Kong authorities placed a HK$1 million (C$185,000) bounty on his head along with five others for their arrest, Victor Ho Leung-mau is undeterred and won't be traveling to the city anytime soon.

Ho is accused of planning to launch a "referendum" to elect those in the Hong Kong diaspora to form a virtual "Hong Kong Parliament". 

He plans to do this by having people vote in March 2025 using a secure app in a bid to circumvent any "Chinese interference".

Of the Hong Kong authorities' announcement on Christmas Eve, Ho is defiant.

Written in Chinese on his Facebook page, the former Sing Tao chief editor wrote that he was proud of the arrest warrant and joked it was "the best Christmas present."

"A Canadian citizen like me... has the protection of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and exercised his right to the freedom of speech."

When Ho announced the plan to elect people to the "virtual" Hong Kong parliament in 2022, the Hong Kong Security Bureau said it would investigate Ho and others for subversion.

"But actually it's the Hong Kong communist authorities meddling in Canada's internal affairs, repeatedly issuing wanted notices for this Canadian citizen. Are they trying for another cross-border arrest? Does Beijing want Canada to become their client/subordinate state?"

Meanwhile Joseph Tay, the former TVB actor who is planning to be a candidate for the federal Conservatives when an election is called, is also on the wanted list.

In reaction to the announcement he wrote on social media:

"On Christmas Eve, an alarming and unbelievable piece of news arrived. Why choose this moment to release such a message? Clearly it was intended to rob us of peace. My wife and I immediately turned to prayer, entrusting these accusations entirely to the Lord. Plans we had made with family and friends for the holiday were instantly disrupted."

There are concerns someone may snitch on the two activists, but Hong Kong does not have extraterritorial powers in Canada. In any event Ho and Tay need to be careful with their movements... kidnapping is not beyond China...