Relatives of Conservative candidate and Hong Kong democracy activist Joe Tay were reportedly taken in for questioning by Hong Kong national security police, according to local media.
The National Security Department took both Tay’s cousin and the cousin’s wife from their home in the Fo Tan area of Hong Kong to a police station on the morning of May 8 to assist with an investigation, according to government-owned Radio Television Hong Kong.
Tay, a Canadian citizen who ran as a Tory candidate in the federal election, is one of several outspoken pro-democracy activists targeted by Hong Kong authorities. International bounties have been issued for Tay and several other activists.
“Sources say that [Tay’s] cousin and cousin’s wife were taken to the police station from their residence in Fo Tan this morning to assist with the investigation,” reads the three-paragraph news report. “It is expected that the investigation will be completed as early as noon.”
Hong Kong authorities issued a warrant and offered a HK$1 million bounty (nearly CA$180,000) for Tay’s arrest in December 2024. Hong Kong officials have accused him of two offences: “incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”
The Epoch Times sought comment from Tay but didn’t hear back by publication time.
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The news comes a few days after the arrest of the father and brother of another Hong Kong democracy activist, Washington-based Anna Kwok, according to non-governmental human rights organization Hong Kong Watch. Kwok, like Tay, had a HK$1 million bounty placed on her by Hong Kong authorities.
Hong Kong Watch also expressed concern about reports involving Tay’s relatives.
“The Hong Kong government is intensifying its campaign of Transnational Repression,” wrote the group in a May 8 social media post. “Governments must act to protect diaspora activists now.”
Tay’s situation drew national attention during Canada’s election campaign after it was reported that Paul Chiang, then an incumbent Liberal candidate for the Ontario riding of Markham-Unionville, had suggested Tay, his Conservative rival, be handed over to the Toronto Chinese consulate to collect the bounty placed on him.
Chiang later issued an apology, calling his comments a “complete lapse of judgment,” and promising to “continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong in their fight to safeguard their human rights and freedoms.”
Tay, who was later moved to run in the Don Valley North riding, said that “no apology is sufficient,” and that the situation left him fearing for his safety. He added he had previously contacted the RCMP about his personal protection.
“Threats like these are the tradecraft of the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in Canada,” he said in a March 31 statement. “And they are not just aimed at me. They are intended to send a chilling signal to the entire community in order to force compliance with Beijing’s political goals.”
Chiang announced on March 31 he was dropping out of the election race because he didn’t “want there to be distractions” during what he called a “uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians.”
Chiang’s comments about Tay are currently under investigation by the RCMP.
Tay’s case made the headlines again in late April, a few days before the federal election, when Canada’s elections security task force announced it had detected a Beijing-linked transnational repression operation targeting Tay.
The operation involved the “inauthentic and coordinated” amplification of content related to Tay’s arrest warrant and bounty, as well as content related to his ability to run for elected office, the security task force said. It was conducted on social media platforms widely used by Chinese-language speakers in Canada, such as WeChat, TikTok, RedNote, and Douyin.
Tay lost to Liberal candidate Maggie Chi, a Toronto public servant, by nearly 5,000 votes in the April 28 election. No evidence has been put forward to suggest his defeat was linked to interference by the Chinese regime.
Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
