The Hong Kong Police Force confirmed that opposition activist Agnes Chow Ting is listed as wanted, at the year-end press conference held on Tuesday.

Chow recently completed her jail sentence of 10 months based on her convictions for one count of “taking part in an unauthorized assembly without lawful authority or reasonable excuse” and one count of “incitement to take part in an unauthorized assembly” for her participation protests surrounding police headquarters in June 2019. The Hong Kong Police National Security Department (NSD) confirmed that Chow failed to fulfil bail conditions to return to Hong Kong in December, and a warrant has been issued against Chow. The NSD previously allowed Chow to study in Canada but required her to return to Hong Kong in December 2023 after the end of the term. In early December, Chow claimed that she decided to skip bail. The NSD condemned her decision and called upon her to return voluntarily to Hong Kong after discovering the statement she made online.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, National Security Kan Kai-yan called upon other exiled activists to be responsible for their illegal actions and turn themselves in. Apart from Chow, there are currently 13 opposition activists who are wanted by the NSD for allegedly committing offences under the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL). Eight of them have been wanted since July 2023, the first time Hong Kong offered bounties with respect to NSL.

In December 2023, the NSD listed five other overseas activists as wanted persons. They were allegedly involved in “incitement to secession,” “incitement to subversion” and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.” They include Cheng Man-kit, Hui Wing-tung, Siu Joey, Fok Ka-chi and Choi Ming-da. They are all allegedly involved in promoting Hong Kong independence and calling upon other countries to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong government officials on social media platforms.

The police also said that 290 people were arrested under the NSL as of the end of December 2023 and 60 percent of them have been charged. Safeguarding national security is the first commissioner’s operational priority in 2024.

Relatedly, the government commenced a one-month public consultation period for a new local national security legislation in January. Former president of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Jasper Tsang criticised the seditious crimes section as over-broadly written. The Secretary for Justice Paul Lam rebutted that claim, stating that judicial precedents on seditious crimes involved only extremist speech such as the promotion of Hong Kong independence or the disruption of constitutional order. He further contended that the new offences would not excessively limit the freedom of speech enjoyed by Hong Kong citizens.