A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist living in exile in South Australia has condemned the targeting of his wife after fake posters that advertised her as a sex worker were delivered to his Adelaide workplace.
“It was a photo of me and my wife together, and I would say it’s an advert for sex service. The title of the poster is ‘Hong Kong lonely housewife’, and it contains an explicit service provider with fees,” Hui told SBS News.
He also found a QR code at the bottom of the poster, which he said linked to his Facebook page.
“It’s … harassment, portraying my wife as a sex worker doing promotion and inviting customers,” Hui said.
“It was shocking.”
Hui is one of four Australian residents who are facing overseas arrest warrants issued by Hong Kong’s national security police.
Pro-democracy campainger Ted Hui was arrested by police officers in Hong Kong in 2020. Credit: Kin Cheung/AP
He is among over a dozen accused of organising or participating in the unofficial “Hong Kong Parliament” group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say aims at achieving self-determination and drafting a “Hong Kong constitution”.
Authorities in Hong Kong say the group aims to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Since arriving in Australia in 2021, Hui has been subjected to harassment from Hong Kong. In March, the Guardian reported that his office received a letter mailed from Hong Kong, which offered reward for information about him and his family.
Following the March incident, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong condemned the letter targeting Hui, saying it was “a threat to (Australian) national security”.
Hui said this the first time his partner is directly targeted by the harassment.
“She’s more speechless, didn’t know how to react to it,” Hui said.
“As a wife of a politician, she understands that she will be under some pressure and spotlight, but not this kind, which is very immoral.”
Other exiled activists also allegedly targeted
Outside Australia, Hong Kong activist Carmen Lau has also been targeted with sexually explicit harassment in the United Kingdom, as several of her neighbours in Maidenhead received fake posters of her that with sexually explicit deepfake images, according to the Guardian.
Lau said that she was “terrified” of these sexually explicit letters, which were posted from Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China.
Despite the harassment, Hui says his wife and family still feels “safe” to live in Adelaide. He has reported the incident to police.
Hui said his experience should send a message to the Australian society about transnational oppression.
“Even though I’m legally and safely protected by the Australian government, but they have other means, at community level, at personal level, they can still infiltrate into Australian soil.”
SBS News has approached the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.