The World Police & Fire Games (WPFG) are over but worry and fear lingers within Canada’s Hong Kong Canadian community..Two questions feed the unease..Have all the 297 Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) participants in the recent games held in Winnipeg gone home? And what will they do with the photos and videos they took of Hong Kongers, many who had fled the HKPF’s brutality, protesting their presence in Canada?.“Those police did some very evil things in Hong Kong. I don’t understand why the Canadian government allowed those people to come into Canada,” said Brian Cheung, with Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern..“A lot of Hong Kong protesters came to Canada looking for asylum. They’re exiled by the government or have a bounty on their neck. I’m not just talking about high-profile persons. There’re many low-profile persons facing National Security Law charges. They’re facing 10 to 45 years in jail. They’re political refugees.”.Despite condemnation from organizations across Canada, the HKPF was allowed to compete with 8,5000 athletes from around the world in the July 28-Aug. 6 event..“Those people have no limited action in Canada. How did our Canadian government guarantee the exiled people’s safety?” said Cheung who has protested oppression and human rights violations for four years. .“Saturday was the closing ceremony. Are they all going to leave Canada or are they allowed to travel freely?”. Hong Kong police force protestHong Kong police force protest .“Now I have to fear my personal security. I don’t know if I walk out that door if there’ll be a Hong Kong police officer waiting for me and trying to follow me …This isn’t a fantasy,” said Cheung..During the games, Hong Kongers were rattled when they encountered HKPF members..“We heard a lot of stories. A normal family was eating in a restaurant. A bunch of Hong Kong officers came in. Those people were scared. We’re in Canada!”.“I came back from a trip to Vancouver on Wednesday. When I arrived at the Winnipeg airport, I saw four Hong Kong policemen. I knew they were policemen even though they weren’t wearing a uniform — the way they cut their hair, the way they stand. At the moment I was thinking ‘Have they come to arrest me?’”.About 30 Hong Kongers protested at the games. .“I knew a lot of Hong Kong people were scared. I was scared. A lot of people wanted to come out, but they knew they’d be directly facing Hong Kong police. We knew there was a risk, that they might take a picture or video and charge you in the future.”.Videos show HKPF members doing just that..“They were taking pictures of the protesters. How can the government guarantee us those pictures or videos were not taken as evidence against us?”.“Who knows how many people there were who work in the national security department. Can anyone guarantee they’re not doing some secret investigation or collecting evidence?”.The National Security Law passed in 2020 is applied worldwide..Activities in foreign countries are considered a crime in Hong Kong. It encompasses crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison..“Today if I release an essay saying we support a Hong Kong political group…tomorrow if I go back to Hong Kong the police can use the essay I wrote in Canada as evidence to charge me. How ridiculous is it?”.He can never return to Hong Kong to visit family “unless they change the government.” His concern is valid..Cheung cited the arrest in March of a 23-year-old student for allegedly “inciting secession” upon her return to Hong Kong..She posted online pro-independence messages two years earlier while studying in Japan. The case was widely reported in Japanese media and by the Hong Kong Free Press..Hong Kongers questioned why Russia, Iran and Belarus were banned from the WPFG for human rights abuses, yet the HKPF’s documented violence during 2019/20 mass anti-Beijing protests was overlooked..In March 2019, Hong Kong erupted in pro-democracy protests. About two million people took to the streets during a series of demonstrations that led to violent clashes with police..The United Nations, committees in the US and Amnesty International decried the brutality and allegations of rape, torture and murder protesters faced at the hands of the HKPF..The protests were sparked by plans to allow extradition to mainland China which would undermine judicial independence and place dissidents at risk. Hong Kong was a British colony until it was returned to China in 1997 under a one country, two systems provision..Cheung came to Canada in 2013 when he was 20 years old to get an education..“For a lot of people coming to Canada in recent years, it’s different. They tell you straight-forward it’s because of the government. They fear government. Democracy is taken away. Freedom is taken away. Freedom of speech is taken away.”.“I remember when school and the government told us we had basic law that protected our freedom of speech and basic human rights. People had the freedom to go out, have a rally, protest even against the government. It was legal to do it unless you used violence. They encouraged us to be good citizens.”.“Now, in Hong Kong there’s no longer freedom of speech. If you just speak out a slogan, you’ll be considered violating the National Security Law.”.He recalled being told “Canada was one of the best freedom countries in the world.”.“Canada’s supposed to be a good country that believes in democracy. Right now, I don’t see that in Canada.”.“Hong Kong is the place my family comes from. But Canada is the place I chose to live in. I just cannot accept our government is that weak.”.Freedom can disappear in a heartbeat if citizens allow it..“Even if you are scared, if you know there might be consequences, coming out to speak out, to show the world we’re not OK with this, is the right thing to do.”.“If everyone is scared there’s not going to be change. Someone has to be brave. We knew what we did was the right thing.”.Cheung pointed to the Chinese police stations shut down by RCMP in Ontario, Quebec and BC and allegations of election interference..“As Canadians are we going to allow foreign countries to act secretly in Canada, to interfere in our society, to interfere with our foreign policy? How can this happen?”
