By Chen Yu-fu and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has increased cross-border intimidation efforts against Hong Kongers in Taiwan over the past year, Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Henry Tong (湯偉雄) said.
Tong, who relocated to Taiwan after the anti-extradition bill protests in 2019, was placed on a “wanted list” by the Hong Kong government on Nov. 20 last year.
His Muay Thai gym was vandalized three days after the wanted list was issued, during which the gym’s surveillance camera was damaged and the main entrance was splashed with red paint.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Police have identified two main suspects, who were from Hong Kong, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chiang (梁文傑) said, adding that the suspects scouted the location before committing the crime and left Taiwan immediately after.
“The criminal act was meant to be a scare tactic to intimidate Tong and other Hong Kongers in Taiwan. The government would not tolerate anyone who complies with the CCP to repress Hong Kongers in Taiwan,” he added.
Tong, in an interview with the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times), said he believed the incident was connected to the CCP and Hong Kong authorities.
During Hong Kong’s legislative election campaign last year, he published several articles and urged Hong Kongers to boycott the vote, he said.
Several days after he was placed on a “wanted list” for allegedly contravening election laws, Tong said his studio was splashed with red paint.
The CCP previously relied on Taiwanese collaborators to threaten figures such as Lam Wing-kee (林榮基), the former owner of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay Books, who had been detained by the CCP and later relocated to Taiwan, he said.
This time, the vandalism was carried out by operatives who were allegedly dispatched directly from Hong Kong, he added.
The purpose was to frighten him and make it harder for him to operate his business, and to warn and intimidate Hong Kongers living in Taiwan by sending a message that anyone who follows his example would face similar consequences, Tong said.
The CCP’s cross-border repression has gone beyond this incident, he said.
For example, during the private screenings of Deadline (自殺通告), a film directed by Kiwi Chow (周冠威) and banned in Hong Kong, unidentified people took photos of Hong Kongers in attendance, Tong said.
Similar surveillance acts have occurred at events he had organized or participated in, he said, citing as an example bomb threats during an event commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4 last year.
The CCP has stepped up its intimidation efforts over the past year, Tong said.
Hong Kong entities have also paid Taiwanese private detective firms to conduct surveillance, he said.
One firm hired happened to be run by an acquaintance of a friend, which was how he found out that Hong Kong was paying through legal channels to have people photographed, Tong said.
He also recalled an incident in October last year, during which Chinese tourists disrupted an event organized by Hong Kongers in Taiwan.
Although police provide protection, authorities often react only after incidents occur, he said, calling on the government to establish preventive mechanisms, including legal amendments imposing heavier penalties for cross-border repression.
This was an infringement on national security, not just a case of splashed paint, Tong said.
The CCP would be emboldened if no action is taken, he added.
An official familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hong Kongers in Taiwan who encounter harassment, threats or unauthorized photography should report the incident to the police.
Prosecutors and investigators would handle cases involving cross-border repression in accordance with the law, they said, adding that authorities would not tolerate local private investigators or other collaborators that assist the CCP in its intimidation efforts.