Exiled Hong Kong activist target of harassment campaign

A high-profile Hong Kong pro-democracy activist living in the UK has been the target of a harassment campaign that includes letters containing fake, obscene images of herself sent to neighbors from China.

Carmen Lau, 30, who fled Hong Kong four years ago, told the BBC she was “shocked” to find letters sent to addresses in Maidenhead, Kent, containing her name and images appearing to be naked or wearing underwear and offering sexual services.

“The letters contained several unpleasant AI-generated or Photoshopped images where they superimposed my face and depicted me as a sex worker,” she said.

The existence of the letters was first reported by The Guardian.

His first knowledge of the letters was when his local MP, Liberal Democrat Joshua Reynolds, called to say he had been warned by some of his constituents who had received the letters.

Ms Lau sought refuge in Britain in 2021 after opposition politicians and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong began being arrested following the introduction of a controversial new National Security Law.

While in the UK, he frequently criticized China’s Communist leadership and spoke out about China’s controversial plans to build a ‘mega embassy’ in London, warning that it could become a base for transnational pressure on those who criticize China abroad.

Last year, about a dozen of the same neighbors in Kent received letters from Hong Kong, purportedly from the police, offering a reward of £95,000 to anyone who could pick up Ms Lau and hand her over to the Chinese embassy in London.

The new letters were sent last month from Macau, a Chinese territory close to Hong Kong.

Ms Lau told the BBC: “I was quite shocked because it wasn’t obvious last time and it was very unpleasant to see.”

“When I was in Hong Kong, pro-Beijing agents were trained to use gender-based harassment targeting pro-democracy activists,” she said, “But AI technology has enhanced this type of intimidation; this goes beyond just transnational pressure; as a woman, this is very worrying.”

“The government needs to be very clear that this is unacceptable, we cannot allow these letters to be sent to UK residents,” Reynolds told the BBC.

“We need to find out who sent these letters,” he said, adding that “officials in Beijing must be held accountable.”

Reynolds said he had raised the issue with both the Home Office and the Foreign Office.

A government spokesman said “the safety and security of Hongkongers in the UK is of the utmost importance.”

Ms. Lau said the police told her they would launch an investigation.

The government has previously insisted that any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities will not be tolerated.

Stating that the United Kingdom continues to express concerns about international pressure directly to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, the organization publicly condemned the issuance of arrest warrants and rewards by the Hong Kong Police Force.