HONG KONG — Agnes Chow, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist who recently fled the territory for Canada, said the huge drop in turnout for the city’s district council election this weekend was not simply due to political apathy.

“Hong Kong citizens did not want to participate in a fake election,” Chow told Nikkei Asia in an online interview from Toronto on Monday. “It is not about people losing interest in politics but about many of them feeling they should not have an interest because there are fears where you could get arrested if you hold an opposing view.”

Chow, 27, was an iconic figure during the protests in 2019 against an extradition bill many feared would result in suspects being brought to mainland China. She was instrumental in stirring youth participation in politics, helping raise turnout at a district council election that year to a record 71.23%.

That election was held under a much more democratic system, and the pro-democracy camp won more than 80% of the seats in 18 districts and took an absolute majority in all district councils.

However, the results triggered Beijing to impose the draconian national security law in June 2020 and subsequently revamp the election system. In the weekend’s election, fewer than 20% of the seats were chosen directly by members of the public — down from more than 90% four years earlier — and the turnout rate nosedived to 27.54%.

Pro-democracy candidates were not allowed to run, as all of them were vetted to ensure absolute loyalty and patriotism.

“All of the elections in Hong Kong are now completely controlled by the Chinese government, where only patriots acknowledged by the Chinese government could run,” Chow said in her fluent self-taught Japanese.

Since the imposition of the security law, most people have not dared to demonstrate on the street or speak about their political preferences freely and openly. Chow said she has witnessed many people, including herself, being detained for doing so. “Hong Kong has turned into a society full of fears,” she said.

On her decision not to return to Hong Kong at any point, Chow said she has “mixed feelings” as she considers the city her home and firmly identifies as a Hong Konger.

“At least, I feel safer than when I was in Hong Kong,” she said, “and finally I am relieved from fear.”

Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow chants slogans at a rally after she was banned from running in a by-election in Hong Kong on Jan. 28, 2018.   © Reuters

Chow said the fear came from her experience with the national security police upon being released from prison in June 2021, having served 10 months for participating in an unauthorized assembly during the 2019 protests. She was placed under strict bail terms because of her arrest on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces, one of the four offenses under the national security law.

As well as being required to report to the police every three months, she said she was sometimes interrogated for six to seven hours a day. “I cannot disclose the details,” she said, but let on that it was about her personal information and who she knew. She said she was interrogated more frequently after indicating she planned to study in Canada for a master’s degree.

In August she was taken to Shenzhen, a Chinese city across the border from Hong Kong, with five national security agents so she could get her passport back to travel to Canada.

“I was extremely, extremely scared back then,” Chow said, adding she was not allowed to tell anyone in advance, including her family, friends or lawyer. “If anything were to happen in the mainland, no one would be able to help me … but I had no other choice but to go. I wasn’t able to resist under that circumstance.”

There are no clauses in any Hong Kong law, not even in the national security law, requiring a trip to the mainland or the writing of a letter of repentance to regain a passport.

“As you can see from the Hong Kong government’s reaction, they are dodging this question,” she said, despite the government claiming the rule of law remains intact.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee last week labeled Chow a “fugitive” who dodged the legal obligations imposed on her after she was released from prison. He called her a “liar” and a “hypocrite,” accusing her of deceiving the “lenient treatment” granted her by the police by deciding to break her promise to return to Hong Kong.

Lee vowed that Chow “will be pursued for life” by his government.

Chow said she is uncertain about her future, that she will concentrate on her studies and try to heal the mental damage she incurred while under police surveillance in Hong Kong.

Several times during the interview she said she had “not thought of” or was “undecided about” her future goals, nationality and occupation due to uncertainty regarding how the “Hong Kong government will pursue me.”

During the interview, Chow used eloquent and straightforward language. When asked about her family, her current whereabouts or the involvement of Canadian authorities she responded that she could not comment.

Switching to English at the end of the interview, Chow gave a message to supporters of democracy.

“The Chinese government and the Hong Kong government are always saying that there are ‘one country, two systems,’ rule of law and separation of powers in Hong Kong,” she said, adding that these values are “being totally destroyed” due to the imposition of the national security law.

“Wherever you are living, I hope you [can] keep your eyes on the situation of Hong Kong and support the people who are fighting for human rights and democracy.”

Additional reporting by Peggy Ye and Kensaku Ihara.