Hong Kong star Denise Ho has been allowed out on bail after she was arrested last month for being a past member of a pro-democracy media group.
A lesbian and pro-democracy activist, Ho had been arrested in her home in Hong Kong on December 28 by the National Security Police.
Hong Kong star Denise Ho detained under security law
The 44-year old Ho had been arrested allegedly due to her past board membership in the independent media outlet Stand News under the suspicion of “conspiracy to publish seditious material.”
Police searched Ho’s home for more than two hours and seized her passport, ID card, mobile phones, and computers.
Ho was one of the six former board members who were arrested. According to the Star Observer, Ho had resigned from Stand News’ board last June.
She was later released on December 30 along with three Stand News board members. Reuters reported that two other board members were denied bail and formally charged under Hong Kong’s national security law.
This law does not cover sedition among the offenses, only terrorism, collusion with foreign forces, subversion, and secession.
However, recent court rulings and colonial-era laws covering sedition allowed authorities to use the new law against media, both digital and social.
Hong Kong star Denise Ho: Lesbian and activist
After her release, Ho posted on Facebook that she’s doing well. Later on, she continued with her online concert last January 2.
In her Facebook post, she said, “Folks, back home. A little tired at the moment, but both physically and mentally are (sic) well. Thanks to each of you for your love.”
Born Denise Ho Wan-see in Hong Kong, she was raised in Montreal, Canada and is a Canadian citizen before she returned to Hong Kong.
She came out as a lesbian in 2012, and has been an active pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong since 2014 as a member of the student-led Umbrella Movement.
To punish her for her activism, China has been allegedly influencing concert halls and stadiums around the world not to book her shows. They have also censored and blacklisted Ho, according to CNN.
However, she has gone to speak before the UN and the US Congress, which angered Hong Kong’s top leader, Carrie Lam.
She urged members of the UN Human Rights Council to “protect the people of Hong Kong and remove China from the council” in 2019.
Chinese government to silence Hong Kong voices
The raid that led to the arrest of Ho was part of a series of raids recently conducted by Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.
Steve Li, senior superintendent of the Police National Security Department, said during a press conference that over 200 national security police officers were deployed.
Li said Stand News was publishing “seditious materials” with intent to “cause hatred towards the government, the judiciary and cause discontent among the public.”
The not-for-profit media outlet Stand News announced its closure ten hours after the raid.
China took over Hong Kong from British control in 1997, promising to retain democratic principles. But recently, China has been cracking down on protests as well as media.
Ho is the first time a well-known celebrity has been arrested by Hong Kong authorities for a political crime.