Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department is boosting Project PATH to monitor former activists after their release from prison. More than half of those arrested in the crackdown against the 2019 protest movement were under the age of 25. Ostensibly “voluntary”, the project is designed to dispel misleading images of the motherland. But as Agnes Chow explained two years ago after she was forced to visit Shenzhen, such visits are just another way of indoctrinating people.

Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Hong Kong government is increasingly using trips to mainland China to "rehabilitate" young protesters and activists jailed after the 2019 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

At a press conference yesterday, Correctional Services Department (CSD) Commissioner Wong Kwok-hing announced the expansion of Project PATH, a rehabilitation programme specifically designed for those convicted in connection with the 2019 protests and unrest, which also includes “supervision” after release.

According to estimates made public as early as 2022 by the Hong Kong Democracy Council, more than half of the more than 1,000 people arrested under Beijing's crackdown were under the age of 25. Most were sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few months to several years – hence the question of their future once they are out of prison.

Citing a case, Wong said that 14 young ex-prisoners were taken earlier this month to the Greater Bay Area, the area of ​​mainland China closest to Hong Kong.

The goal of such a tour was “to enable them (the ex-prisoners) to obtain an understanding of national affairs, witness the latest national developments, enrich their knowledge of Chinese culture and enhance their sense of national identity, thereby further fostering their affection for and sense of belonging to our country,” a CSD statement reads.

The three-day, two-night tour began in Foshan, where the young people visited an exhibition hall honouring three Communist Party revolutionaries to “learn about modern Chinese history”.

This was followed by a visit to a local school where they interacted with mainland teachers and students and to a traditional Chinese medicine hospital. Afterwards, they travelled to Zhuhai to visit an aircraft company and a space centre.

The CSD also released a statement in which Ah Ming, the pseudonym of a former participant in the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, thanks the department for organising the tour, which "allowed him to rediscover his homeland”.

“Ah Ming added that he previously had misunderstandings about the Chinese Mainland due to being misled, ” the CSD statement said. “This trip has broadened his horizons significantly, not only allowing him to learn about Chinese history and culture, but also providing an opportunity for him to ride a high-speed train for the first time and visit technology enterprises, so that he could understand in person the rapid development of the country.”

A young Catholic woman, Agnes Chow, one of the best-known faces of the protest movement, now in exile in Toronto (Canada), had quite a different take on this type of trip.

After seven months behind bars in Hong Kong, she too had to take one of these "patriotic" trips to Shenzhen to obtain the passport needed to continue her studies in Canada.

In an Instagram post in December 2023, she wrote: “That day, in addition to eating, drinking and having fun, I was arranged to visit the 'Reform and Opening-up Exhibition' to learn about the development of China and the Communist Party, as well as the 'brilliant achievements' of successive leaders. Later, I was taken to Tencent headquarters to learn about the 'technological development of our motherland'.

“In all fairness,” the young activist said, “I have never denied China's economic development, but for such a powerful country to send people fighting for democracy to prison, limit their freedom of entry and exit, and require entry into China to visit exhibitions patriotism in exchange for passports, isn't that an example of vulnerability?”

Agnes Chow also remembered the officials’ insistence on collecting evidence of these “patriotic” trips.

“When I visited the exhibition and Tencent headquarters, I was also asked to take a photo with the logo, and the driver from Shenzhen who accompanied me kept taking photos of me,” she explained.

“If I had remained silent, those photos could have become proof of my 'patriotism': that's how tangible this fear is. And when I returned to Hong Kong, the National Security again asked me to write a letter thanking the police for organizing all this, 'so that I can learn about the great development of our motherland'.”

Explaining her choice to remain in Toronto, motivated precisely by the desire to avoid this type of pressure upon her return to Hong Kong, Agnes Chow concluded her story a little over two years ago with this thought that well sums up the wounds that young people carry within them after enduring prison and repression.

“Over the past few years I have learned firsthand how precious freedom from fear is. There are still many unknowns in the future, but what I know is that I will no longer have to worry about whether or not I will be arrested and I will finally be able to say and do what I want,” she wrote.

“As I study and heal in Canada, I also hope to rediscover the interests that I put aside due to my emotional suffering and various pressures in the past, and rebuild my rhythm,” she added.

Ultimately, for her, “Freedom is not easy to obtain, and amidst the fear of everyday life, I treasure all the people who have not forgotten me, who care about me, and who love me even more. May we reunite in the near future and hug each other.”

• china
• hong kong
• protesters
• imprisonment
• brainwashing
• visits
• mainland
• agnes chow
• canada