Ted Hui: Wong says case of Hong Kong exile targeted by anonymous ‘pro-Israel’ leaflets raised with China

An outspoken Hong Kong exile living in Australia has been targeted by anonymous leaflets allegedly posted to mosques in Adelaide and accusing him of “siding with Israel” against “Islamic terrorism”.

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that she has and will again raise the case with the Chinese authorities.

Ted Hui, a lawyer and former Hong Kong legislator, who took refuge in Australia after Beijing crushed the city’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, told The Nightly he had been warned about the leaflets by the authorities late last year.

He was told the flyers, which used photoshopped images of his face and place of work, had been posted anonymously from Macau, the special administrative region of China that neighbours Hong Kong.

The Nightly was unable to independently verify the leaflets were posted to Adelaide mosques from Macau but contacted the Australian Federal Police and ASIO for comment.

The one-page documents are designed using the logo of Mr Hui’s current law firm alongside his face and sections about his “professional knowledge” and a “who am I” section.

They state that he “provides assistance to local Jews” and that “I am a pro-Jewish man and siding with Israel to wage war against those [sic] Islamic terrorism.”

The leaflet describes Mr Hui as a “warrior of The Democratic Party and Legislative Council in Hong Kong, striving for Hong Kong independence and the overthrow of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Mr Hui said he was shocked and alarmed when he was informed about the brazen attempts to “cause trouble” for him.

The leaflets arrived as the anti-Semitism crisis and the targeting of Australian Jewish communities was dominating daily headlines.

“It triggers me to think this can happen because I never thought of being troubled by these kind of tricks,” he said.

“I would only imagine someone following me, stopping me, that kind of thing, taking photos of me, but not sending stuff to others to create tensions. So it’s alarming in that way,” he said.

Mr Hui did not know who had sent the leaflets, whether sponsored by the Chinese state or an individual influenced by Chinese Government propaganda.

The Nightly contacted the Chinese embassy for comment.

But the one-time politician who was often seen trying to mediate between police and protesters on the frontlines of the Hong Kong pro-democracy rallies has been hounded by the Chinese Communist Party since fleeing to Australia.

In 2023, he was issued with an arrest warrant under the controversial national security law that was used to crack down on civil liberties in the city and crush all dissent.

Mr Hui and Kevin Yam, a Melbourne-based Australian lawyer, were both issued with warrants and a $191,824 bounty placed on their heads. They were told by the Hong Kong authorities to “give themselves up” or they will be “pursued for life.”

They are among eight overseas-based activists wanted on charges that include colluding with foreign forces and incitement to secession under a law that has been widely condemned internationally by democratic governments.

Mr Yam has also been targeted in recent days by anonymous letters mailed from Hong Kong and describing him as a “wanted person,” reported the Guardian.

In response to both cases, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Australia would not tolerate the targeting of people on its soil.

“We are a sovereign nation. We do not accept any one of our citizens or on our shores, people being bullied or harassed or threatened by a foreign power,” she said.

“We expect our democracy and our citizens to be able to operate free from such interference, that kind of pressure or threats. And we have and will make representations very clearly.”

More to come….