Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Hong Kong Activists Feel Pressure as Chinese Authorities Approach Relatives
in Mainland China

Tommy Walker

   HONG KONG - A pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong is the latest to
   disclose that Chinese authorities questioned his family and friends in
   mainland China for information about him.

   Yat-Chin Wong, 19, is the organizer of StudentPoliticism, a political
   group in Hong Kong whose aim is to promote "core values such as
   democracy and liberty and our sentiments to Hong Kong."

   The teenager was arrested twice last year, while national security
   officers warned group members about their continued activism.

   Wong, who spent his childhood in China before moving to Hong Kong while
   in primary school, revealed that his relatives in Sichuan had recently
   been approached for questioning.

   "I was told by my family in the past few days that my relatives,
   friends and even classmates from primary school in China were
   questioned by public authorities. They wanted to know my plans and
   whereabouts. They told my relatives and friends not to keep in contact
   with me," Wong told VOA.

   After learning about the questionings, Wong severed ties with his
   family and friends.

   "From past to future, my stand and actions are entirely on my own and
   are not associated with, or linked to, any of my relatives and family,"
   Wong posted on his Facebook page.

   But Wong said he is still worried that further action could be taken.

   "China suppresses people who hold opposite ideas against them. I guess
   the government could still approach or interrogate or question them,"
   he said.

   "I haven't seen or contacted them in a long time. Rather, I am more
   worried about the political prosecution that might happen to me in Hong
   Kong," he said.

   Hong Kong was returned to China from Britain in 1997 under the "one
   country, two systems" agreement that promised Hong Kong would retain a
   "high degree of autonomy" until 2047. But since the handover, Beijing
   has attempted to further tighten its control of the city.

   In 2019, a now-withdrawn extradition bill sparked widespread
   anti-government protests in Hong Kong In response, Beijing implemented
   the National Security Act for Hong Kong, effective June 30, 2020.

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