Hong Kong has issued an arrest warrant, but Vancouver is not worried

Last week, Hong Kong issued an arrest warrant for 19 overseas activists, all members of a group called the Hong Kong parliament that promoted self-determination in Hong Kong and established the Hong Kong Constitution.

But Hong Kong claims the organization is using illegal means to overthrow China’s institutions.

On the 19th, he worked in the British Columbia version of Sing Tao Daily, which he sang in Hong Kong.

Huo said this was not the first time he faced an arrest warrant in Hong Kong. An arrest warrant was issued in 2021 and was issued again in December 2024.

He said, this is the latest arrest warrant.

His conversation with CBC On the coast Host Gloria Macarenko.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Victor, how did you learn about this warrant?

I learned this from social media last Thursday night when I was attending a concert in downtown Vancouver.

This is a little strange. How did the Hong Kong government want Canadians for three times? The first time is in 2021. The second one is last December – the Hong Kong government provided me with one million Hong Kong bounties.

Are you worried? Are you afraid?

No, because this is the third time.

The Canadian government approached me for the first time after I was wanted by the Hong Kong government (including Canadian global affairs, including CSIS and RCMP). Even the Ministry of Public Safety, they approached me. They provided me with all kinds of information about my personal safety, as well as my immediate dangers. They have a lot of information to advise me not to go to these countries through extradition treaties with Hong Kong. They tried to protect me and asked me what I could do to make me feel safe.

What about the charges? Police say your team is trying to overthrow the Chinese and Hong Kong governments by illegal means. How do you respond?

I don’t think this is appropriate. This is not proportional. We just expressed our willingness to provide universal suffrage for the Hong Kong People’s Organization overseas and Hong Kong. Therefore, I and a group of Hong Kong people overseas tried to organize in a grassroots democratic way to say that the people of Hong Kong have the right to self-determination and their sovereignty deserves honor. Therefore, we only try to realize these rights, only democratic rights. I don’t think we have enough power to overthrow the government.

What about your friends, or even family members in Hong Kong? What was their life like there?

In fact, last year, I cut off all contacts, all contacts with my Hong Kong family. Here is my suggestion to cut it off. I don’t want them to participate. I don’t want the police to come to their doorstep to ask them many questions. I just cut all the connections off. Even the phone.

I have many relatives in Hong Kong. I have eight sisters and brothers.

I didn’t hear bad news from my family in Hong Kong. So far it’s not bad. But I hope they can’t find evidence of my relatives in Hong Kong because I left my original family in my 20s. I have not had a close connection with them for over 40 years, so they can’t find evidence to bother my relatives.

Given what you described this afternoon, why are so many people staying? Why don’t they leave like you did?

There are several reasons: due to financial capabilities, because they have connections with relatives in mainland China. Some of my older brothers have wives from mainland China. Therefore, from their perspective, cultural connections cannot be easily cut off. So I understand their situation.

Due to my career, I immigrated to Canada. I know the sensitivity of my career to the communist regime. They didn’t like any journalists, so after having a discussion with my wife, we decided to leave Hong Kong in 1997 to play a role safely.