The Hong Kong Police National Security Department on April 10 took the parents of Frances Hui Wing-ting, a democracy advocate living in exile in the United States, to a police station for interrogation. The couple left the station at noon on the same day and were not arrested.
Hui posted on social media that she has not had regular contact with her parents since leaving Hong Kong, and said, “I feel really sorry to make them suffer again.” Past records also show Hui’s mother was taken by police for questioning in December 2024.
Hui, who left Hong Kong in July 2020, is a member of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and was previously granted political asylum in the United States.
In December last year, Hui was again listed as an “absconder” by the police, indicating her Hong Kong passport was revoked.
In response to a request for comment by The Epoch Times on April 11, the Hong Kong police stated that the National Security Department “invited” two persons to the police station to assist in the investigation of a case. Police said the investigation is still ongoing, and no one has yet been arrested.
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She said that she learned to care about people and disadvantaged groups around her, such as the elderly and the weak, through her parents. Gradually, she became aware of injustices in society and decided to participate in social movements and advocacy groups, despite occasional opposition from her family along the way, she said.
“As I have made it clear publicly in the past, participating in the social movement, joining the students, etc. is my own decision,” she said.
Hui said that after leaving Hong Kong, she never expected that she would still cause troubles for her parents from afar. She emphasized that she doesn’t currently know the details of her parents’ daily lives, and she only heard the news of their being taken away for questioning through journalist contacts.
She questioned why authorities would treat her parents, who she said have lived a down-to-earth life and are enthusiastic about serving the community, in such a way. She said that besides failing to fulfill her filial duties, she felt sad and guilty seeing the communist regime try to use her parents to put pressure on her.
Hui said that in the face of fear, she chose not to compromise but to continue with her advocacy.
“Since we have chosen this path, let’s go forward wholeheartedly and steadfastly and shine together in the darkness for each other until we see light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
Since the National Security Law went into effect in Hong Kong in 2020, the government has issued arrest warrants for at least 19 Hong Kong residents overseas.
In January, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI), where wanted and exiled former Hong Kong Polytechnic University associate professor Chung Kim-wah once worked, was searched by the National Security Bureau. HKPORI’s founder and CEO, Robert Chung Ting-yiu, was taken away twice, along with two other staff members, for interrogation.
In February, the aunt and uncle of former district councilor Carmen Lau Ka-man were taken to the police station for questioning. In March this year, the stepfather of Tony Chung Han-lam, who is in exile in the UK, was also taken to the police station.