Hong Kong Political Prisoners & the Erosion of Freedom — 1997–Present

Verified Hong Kong dissident universe — current catalog

37
verified currently imprisoned in Hong Kong

1
current cross-border prisoner held in mainland China

Dataset-derived count using unique canonical person IDs. Released, acquitted, exile, deceased, overseas-warrant-only and non-Hong-Kong-custody cases are excluded. Gui Minhai is tracked separately as mainland/cross-border custody. No release is inferred from sentence arithmetic. Last verified September 16, 2026.

Hong Kong Political Prisoners & the Erosion of Freedom — 1997–Present traces the erosion of Hong Kong’s promised freedoms from the July 1, 1997 handover to the present political-prisoner era. It does not assume that Hong Kong had a continuous class of political prisoners from the moment of the handover. Instead, it documents how restrictions on democratic participation, national-security legislation, prosecutions, imprisonment, restrictions on remembrance, pressure on the press, and shrinking civic space accumulated over time.

This hub links tracked cases to the strongest available Free China profile and media archive, then connects those records to related news, editorials, rapid responses and press releases. It is a living chronology: dates, custody status, convictions, sentences and release information are updated only after source verification.

Related: Political Prisoners · People Directory · News & Editorial Archive · Rapid Response Archive

Three eras of erosion

1997–2003 — The Promise and First Major Test: the handover, the Basic Law framework and the first major confrontation over Article 23 national-security legislation.

2004–2018 — Progressive Political Constriction: restrictions on electoral reform, the Umbrella Movement, bookseller disappearances, candidate and legislator disqualifications, imprisonment of democracy leaders, and the banning of a political party.

2019–Present — Mass Prosecution and the National-Security Era: the anti-extradition protests, the 2020 National Security Law, prolonged detention, organizational closures, restrictions on remembrance and press freedom, the 2024 Article 23 legislation, and major political-prisoner sentences.

Tracked Hong Kong political-prisoner files

• Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) — Profile · Media Profile & Archive
• Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) — Profile · Media Profile & Archive
• Albert Ho (何俊仁) — Profile · Media Profile & Archive
• Jimmy Lai (黎智英) — Media Profile · Media Archive

Inclusion in this archive records a verified political-imprisonment or political-prosecution case; it does not imply that every person listed remains imprisoned. Current custody, release, appeal and post-release status are verified person by person and are never projected from sentence length alone.

Expanded Hong Kong political-prisoner and political-prosecution register

Hong Kong 47 / democratic-primary case: Hong Kong Watch and Amnesty International identify the case as a central mass-prosecution file. Forty-five defendants were convicted and sentenced in 2024; two were acquitted. Appeals by 12 defendants were rejected in February 2026. Because some defendants have since completed terms or been released, this hub treats the Hong Kong 47 as a case family and verifies current custody separately for each person.

Verified Hong Kong 47 status counter

47
profiles reconciled

24
currently imprisoned

21
released / former prisoners

2
acquitted

Verified against Free China’s 47 profile-level records, status-reviewed through September 16, 2026. This is a case-cohort counter, not an estimate of all political prisoners in Hong Kong. Free China does not calculate release dates from sentence arithmetic.

Hong Kong 47 — Defendants, Sentences and Current Status

Case details: Click a person’s name to view the full profile, including arrest and detention history, charges, sentencing, current status, sources, media archive and related coverage.

Arrest-date note: January 6, 2021 records the mass arrest operation. Most defendants were released on bail and then formally charged on February 28, 2021; individual profiles preserve that distinction rather than implying uninterrupted custody from January 6.

Women in the Hong Kong 47 and related political-prisoner archive

The previous four-person list badly underrepresented women. The following Hong Kong 47 women have individual Free China status records; custody is verified person by person because several have completed their terms: Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam (何桂藍) — 7 years; Winnie Yu Wai-ming (余慧明) — 6 years 9 months; Carol Ng Man-yee (吳敏兒) — 4 years 5 months; Prince Wong Ji-yuet (黃子悅) — 4 years 5 months; Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai (袁嘉蔚) — 4 years 3 months; Claudia Mo Man-ching (毛孟靜) — 4 years 2 months; Helena Wong Pik-wan (黃碧雲) — 6 years 6 months; and Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying (楊雪盈) — 6 years 6 months. Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) is tracked separately in the Hong Kong Alliance / June Fourth case. Chan Pui-man (陳沛敏), former Apple Daily associate publisher, is also currently imprisoned and was sentenced to 7 years on February 9, 2026. Historical women’s files additionally include Cyd Ho Sau-lan, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Denise Ho Wan-see, Marilyn Tang Yin-lee, Elizabeth Tang Yin-ngor, Tanya Chan and other women who were arrested, prosecuted, jailed, given suspended terms, released or placed on bail; these are not mislabeled as current prisoners.

September 2026 HK47 women status check: Helena Wong, Clarisse Yeung, Winnie Yu and Gwyneth Ho remain imprisoned in the latest verified reporting. Their Court of Appeal challenges were rejected on February 23, 2026, and all four were among the 11 defendants granted a certificate/leave pathway on August 10, 2026 to take certified legal questions toward the Court of Final Appeal. Prince Wong remains imprisoned; her sentence appeal was rejected on February 23, 2026, and she was not part of the August 10 group. No release date is projected for any of them from sentence arithmetic.

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Apple Daily / press-freedom case

In February 2026, Jimmy Lai and six former Apple Daily editors and executives received prison sentences in the national-security / sedition case. The individual staff files are now linked here: Chan Pui-man — 7 years; Cheung Kim-hung — 6 years 9 months; Lam Man-chung — 10 years; Ryan Law Wai-kwong — 10 years; Fung Wai-kong — 10 years; and Yeung Ching-kee — 7 years 3 months. CPJ records all six as imprisoned. Lam and Fung have sentence appeals pending. Their custody histories and later status changes are maintained person by person rather than calculated from sentence length.

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June Fourth / Hong Kong Alliance and remembrance cases

Beyond Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, the archive now tracks the wider Hong Kong Alliance / Tiananmen-remembrance case family, including Cyd Ho Sau-lan, Frederick Ho Chun-ki, Marilyn Tang Yin-lee, Elizabeth Tang Yin-ngor, Tsui Hon-kwong, Tang Ngok-kwan, Wu Chi-wai and Leung Yiu-chung. These records distinguish present imprisonment from historical arrest, conviction, bail, acquittal or release.

Umbrella Movement and pre-2019 imprisonment

Additional historical political-imprisonment profiles

• Leung Yiu-chung — historical/current classification in profile
• Nathan Law Kwun-chung — historical/current classification in profile
• Alex Chow Yong-kang — historical/current classification in profile
• Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong — historical/current classification in profile

The post-1997 archive must not begin only with the 2020 National Security Law. Amnesty International designated Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chan Kin-man, Raphael Wong Ho-ming and Shiu Ka-chun prisoners of conscience after they were jailed in April 2019 for peaceful Umbrella Movement-related activity. The broader “Umbrella Nine” file also includes Chu Yiu-ming, Tommy Cheung Sau-yin, Eason Chung Yiu-wa, Tanya Chan and Lee Wing-tat. Earlier 2017 imprisonment of Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow is retained as a distinct historical political-imprisonment phase.

Joshua Wong — full media profile & archive

612 Humanitarian Relief Fund case

The 612 Fund case archive tracks Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Denise Ho Wan-see, Hui Po-keung, Cyd Ho Sau-lan and former secretary Sze Ching-wee. The five former trustees lost their Court of Appeal challenge on September 3, 2026 and said they intended to seek review by the Court of Final Appeal. The convictions at issue were registration convictions under the Societies Ordinance and resulted in fines, not imprisonment.

Press, speech and other national-security / sedition cases

612 Humanitarian Relief Fund: The September 2026 appeal record concerns Societies Ordinance registration convictions and fines. Those convictions should not be treated as proof of current imprisonment. Read the verified case update.

The archive also tracks Patrick Lam Shiu-tung and Chung Pui-kuen in the Stand News case; Koo Sze-yiu; Ma Chun-man; Ivan Lam Long-yin; and other speech, protest and national-security cases. Each is classified by the strongest available evidence and by present state: detained, serving sentence, released/former prisoner, acquitted, on bail, exiled, or historical prosecution.

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Additional verified person profiles

• Patrick Lam Shiu-tung — Stand News
• Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun — 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund
• Chu Yiu-ming — Umbrella Movement

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Cross-border repression and disappearance cases

The 2015 Causeway Bay Books disappearances are preserved in the post-1997 erosion timeline but are not automatically labeled “Hong Kong prison” cases. Lam Wing-kee, Lee Bo, Gui Minhai and the other booksellers belong in a distinct cross-border repression / disappearance file because the core allegation concerns detention or coercion outside normal Hong Kong legal process.

Evidence rule: Hong Kong Watch, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, CPJ, court records, Hong Kong government records and major contemporaneous reporting are used as source layers. Newer dated release reporting overrides older static prisoner-profile labels. Current custody and release dates require direct verification; sentence arithmetic alone is not used.

Current-custody verification of the eight names circulating in the September 2026 social-media post

• Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) — imprisoned; sentenced September 11, 2026 to 7 years 3 months in the Hong Kong Alliance national-security case.
• Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷) — imprisoned; serving a 10-year sentence in the Hong Kong 47 case.
• Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam (何桂藍) — imprisoned; serving a 7-year sentence in the Hong Kong 47 case.
• Joshua Wong Chi-fung (黃之鋒) — imprisoned; already serving the Hong Kong 47 sentence and, as of September 2, 2026, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in a second National Security Law case.
• Jimmy Lai Chee-ying (黎智英) — imprisoned; serving the sentence imposed in the Apple Daily national-security/sedition case.
• Prince Wong Ji-yuet (黃子悅) — imprisoned; serving a 4-year 5-month sentence in the Hong Kong 47 case.
• Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄) — imprisoned; serving a 6-year 9-month sentence in the Hong Kong 47 case.
• Albert Ho Chun-yan (何俊仁) — imprisoned; sentenced September 11, 2026 to 5 years 2 months in the Hong Kong Alliance national-security case.

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Hong Kong Political Prisoner Profiles

Explore individual profiles for Hong Kong political prisoners and former prisoners, with case histories, custody status, sources, media archives and related coverage.

• Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤)
• Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人)
• Albert Ho Chun-yan (何俊仁)
• Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam (何桂藍)
• Winnie Yu Wai-ming (余慧明)
• Carol Ng Man-yee (吳敏兒)
• Prince Wong Ji-yuet (黃子悅)
• Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai (袁嘉蔚)
• Claudia Mo Man-ching (毛孟靜)
• Helena Wong Pik-wan (黃碧雲)
• Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying (楊雪盈)
• Chan Pui-man (陳沛敏)
• Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷)
• Joshua Wong Chi-fung (黃之鋒)
• Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄)

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Latest verified status changes

• September 11, 2026: Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) was sentenced to 7 years 3 months; Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) to 7 years; Albert Ho (何俊仁) to 5 years 2 months in the Hong Kong Alliance national-security case. Reuters and Associated Press independently reported the sentences. Chow and Lee were reported to be planning appeals. Release/completion dates remain under verification and are not projected from sentence length alone.

Status verification: September 11, 2026. Major case changes are first entered into the canonical prisoner tracker and then propagated to this hub, the main Political Prisoners page, and relevant profile/media pages.

1997 — Handover and the constitutional promise

On July 1, 1997, sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region under the Basic Law and the framework commonly described as “one country, two systems.” The historical baseline matters: Hong Kong retained a separate legal system and substantial civil liberties, while the Basic Law set out protections for speech, press, assembly, association and other rights and contemplated the eventual selection of the Chief Executive and Legislative Council by universal suffrage.

Why it matters: the later erosion of freedom can be measured against these institutional and constitutional commitments rather than against an imagined period of full democracy.

1998–2002 — Civil society remains strong, political reform remains incomplete

In the first post-handover years, Hong Kong retained a vigorous press, large civil-society organizations, opposition parties, annual June Fourth vigils and competitive elections for part of the legislature. At the same time, the political system remained only partly democratic and the constitutional relationship between Hong Kong institutions and Beijing increasingly shaped disputes over rights and autonomy.

What to watch: the gap between extensive civil liberties and limited democratic control of the government.

2003 — Article 23 and the first major national-security confrontation

The Hong Kong government sought to enact national-security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law. The proposal generated extraordinary public opposition, culminating in the July 1 mass demonstration. The legislation was shelved after the government lost sufficient political support to proceed.

Why it matters: 2003 demonstrated both the strength of Hong Kong civil society and the central conflict that would return in more powerful forms in 2020 and 2024: whether broadly framed national-security powers could coexist with Hong Kong’s protected freedoms.

2004–2013 — The path to universal suffrage narrows

Beijing’s decisions increasingly constrained the timetable and framework for democratic reform. The central political question shifted from whether Hong Kong would move toward universal suffrage to what restrictions Beijing could impose on that process.

What freedom was under pressure: meaningful electoral choice and the ability of Hong Kong voters to determine their government without political screening.

2014 — Umbrella Movement

After Beijing established a restrictive framework for selecting candidates for Chief Executive, students and democracy supporters launched protests that developed into the 79-day Umbrella Movement. The movement became a defining confrontation over universal suffrage, civil disobedience and the limits of Beijing’s control over Hong Kong’s political development.

Why it matters: the state response to Umbrella-era leaders became an important bridge between restricting democratic reform and using criminal proceedings against prominent peaceful opposition figures.

2015 — Causeway Bay Books disappearances

The disappearances of five people associated with Causeway Bay Books, a publisher and bookseller known for politically sensitive material about mainland Chinese leaders, created profound concern about whether mainland security practices were reaching across Hong Kong’s legal boundary.

What freedom was under pressure: publishing, personal security, freedom from extrajudicial coercion and confidence in the territorial integrity of Hong Kong’s legal system.

2016 — Candidate and legislator disqualifications

Political views and oath-taking controversies increasingly became grounds for excluding candidates and removing elected legislators. Beijing also issued a Basic Law interpretation while related litigation was active in Hong Kong courts.

What freedom was under pressure: electoral participation, representation and institutional autonomy.

2017 — Imprisonment of Umbrella Movement leaders

Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), Nathan Law (羅冠聰) and Alex Chow (周永康) received prison sentences arising from their role in a peaceful protest that preceded the Umbrella Movement. International rights organizations increasingly warned that Hong Kong was developing political-prisoner cases.

Why it matters: imprisonment for peaceful political activity marked a qualitative change in the erosion timeline.

2018 — Political organization prohibited

The Hong Kong National Party was formally prohibited, while candidate exclusions and prosecutions continued to narrow the space for political organization created by the post-Umbrella generation.

What freedom was under pressure: association, political organization, candidacy and advocacy for constitutional change.

2019 — Mass protest and a new cycle of political prosecution

The anti-extradition movement brought millions into the streets and was followed by large-scale arrests and prosecutions. The year was an acceleration, not the beginning, of Hong Kong’s erosion of freedom. Many later political-prisoner cases, organizations, court proceedings and restrictions on public assembly trace directly to the political conflict that intensified in 2019.

What freedom was under pressure: assembly, protest, political participation, press freedom and protection from politically driven prosecution.

2020 — National Security Law imposed

Beijing imposed the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020. The law created new national-security offenses and a legal framework soon used against prominent democracy activists, media figures, organizers and civil-society institutions.

What changed: national-security prosecutions became a central instrument of political control; the legal risks of peaceful organizing, speech and association expanded sharply.

Representative tracked case: Jimmy Lai (黎智英) · Media Archive

2021 — Imprisonment, organizational collapse and the criminalization of remembrance

By 2021, the effects of the new national-security order were visible across politics, media and civil society. The closure of Apple Daily, arrests and prosecutions of democracy figures, and pressure on the Hong Kong Alliance and June Fourth remembrance marked a decisive contraction of public space.

Representative tracked cases: Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) · Media Archive; Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) · Media Archive; Albert Ho (何俊仁) · Media Archive.

What freedom was under pressure: historical memory, peaceful assembly, association, press freedom and the ability of civic organizations to continue operating.

2022 — Long detention becomes part of the punishment

Many national-security defendants remained in lengthy pretrial detention or continued serving sentences from protest-related cases while facing additional proceedings. The practical meaning of political prosecution increasingly included years of confinement before final resolution of all charges.

What freedom was under pressure: due process, liberty before trial, legal defense and the ability of opposition figures to remain active in public life.

2023 — Repression extends beyond prison walls

Hong Kong’s national-security system increasingly reached beyond courtroom convictions. Overseas activists faced warrants and bounties, while people and organizations inside Hong Kong faced continuing pressure over association, speech and contact with international groups.

What freedom was under pressure: speech, association, international advocacy and the security of Hong Kong activists living abroad.

2024 — Article 23 legislation deepens the national-security system

The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, enacted under Article 23 of the Basic Law, added another layer to Hong Kong’s national-security framework. The legal environment for journalism, advocacy, civil society and political organization became still more restrictive.

What freedom was under pressure: expression, press freedom, association, access to information and political organizing.

2025 — Political trials and restrictions become normalized

By 2025, prolonged national-security proceedings, professional consequences, surveillance, restrictions after release and the continuing incarceration of major democracy figures had become part of Hong Kong’s ordinary political landscape rather than exceptional events.

What freedom was under pressure: independent political participation, professional freedom, legal advocacy and meaningful opposition activity.

2026 — Sentences, imprisonment and the battle over conscience and memory

Free China coverage in 2026 documents a further hardening of the system: major democracy and June Fourth figures remained imprisoned or faced new sentences, while remembrance itself continued to be treated as a national-security issue.

• Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤), Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) and Albert Ho (何俊仁): sentenced September 11, 2026 to 7 years 3 months, 7 years, and 5 years 2 months respectively in the Hong Kong Alliance national-security case. Chow media archive · Lee media archive · Ho media archive · FCM press release · Rapid Response · Editorial.
• Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤): Five Years After Chow Hang-tung’s Arrest · FCM statement calling for her release.
• Jimmy Lai (黎智英): Jimmy Lai’s 20-year sentence and renewed appeal for release · Rapid Response · FCM Statement.
• Joshua Wong (黃之鋒): Profile & current-status archive · FCM statement on his guilty plea · Freedom House release campaign coverage.
• Prince Edward remembrance cases: FCM press release on arrests over remembrance.

What this timeline is meant to show

The purpose is not merely to count prisoners. It is to show the relationship between individual cases and the deterioration of freedoms over time. A political-prisoner record should therefore answer two questions together: what happened to the person, and what freedom disappeared or became more dangerous for everyone else?

The timeline will continue to expand with verified sentencing dates, release dates, post-release restrictions, profile pages, media archives, legal records and links to related reporting.

Last updated: September 13, 2026.

Related June Fourth prisoner-status archive

The Tiananmen 27 status and media archive connects this Hong Kong chronology to the broader CHRD May 31, 2024 roster. It records the September 11, 2026 sentences of Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho; Jimmy Lai’s February 2026 sentence; Joshua Wong’s September 2026 guilty plea in the newer foreign-collusion case with sentencing still pending in the latest verified reporting; and Claudia Mo’s verified April 2025 release after completing her sentence.

Additional Hong Kong Alliance and related case profiles

• Tang Ngok-kwan — current/historical case classification
• Tsui Hon-kwong — current/historical case classification
• Simon Leung Kam-wai — current/historical case classification
• Chan To-wai — current/historical case classification
• Elizabeth Tang Yin-ngor — current/historical case classification
• Marilyn Tang Yin-lee — current/historical case classification
• Frederick Ho Chun-ki — current/historical case classification

Hong Kong 47 — 23 February 2026 appeal profile register

This register links the twelve appeal-related defendants covered by the Court of Appeal judgment to their canonical Free China profile/media archives. It distinguishes conviction appeals from sentence-only appeals and does not infer release dates from sentence lengths.

• Helena Wong Pik-wan / 黃碧雲 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Lam Cheuk-ting / 林卓廷 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Raymond Chan Chi-chuen / 陳志全 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Leung Kwok-hung / 梁國雄 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying / 楊雪盈 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Kalvin Ho Kai-ming / 何啟明 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Cheng Tat-hung (Tat Cheng) / 鄭達鴻 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam / 何桂藍 — conviction appeal rejected; Reuters reported she did not appeal her sentence.
• Owen Chow Ka-shing / 鄒家成 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Winnie Yu Wai-ming / 余慧明 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Gordon Ng Ching-hang / 吳政亨 — conviction and sentence appeal rejected.
• Prince Wong Ji-yuet / 黃子悅 — sentence appeal rejected; Reuters grouped her separately from the eleven conviction appellants.

Source: Reuters, 23 February 2026; see also Amnesty International’s case background.

Hong Kong 47 — verified release/status profile register

These records reconcile defendants whose public status changed after the November 2024 sentencing. Release dates are recorded from dated reporting rather than inferred from sentence length.

• Sam Cheung Ho-sum / 張可森 — 4 years 11 months; released in late January 2026 after completing his sentence.
• Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu / 楊岳橋 — 5 years 1 month; released on 28 March 2026 after completing his sentence.
• Kwok Ka-ki / 郭家麒 — 4 years 2 months; released in late April 2025 after serving more than four years in custody.
• Jeremy Tam Man-ho / 譚文豪 — 4 years 2 months; released in late April 2025 after serving more than four years in custody.
• Fergus Leung Fong-wai / 梁晃維 — 4 years 11 months; released in late January 2026 after completing his sentence.
• Andrew Chiu Ka-yin / 趙家賢 — 7 years; released early on 28 October 2025 after remission for good behaviour.
• Andy Chui Chi-kin / 徐子見 — 4 years 2 months; released on 27 October 2025 after completing his sentence.

Hong Kong 47 — additional verified 2026 releases

These records capture additional 2026 releases and link them to canonical Free China profiles. Post-release developments are kept distinct from the original conviction and sentence.

• Eddie Chu Hoi-dick / 朱凱廸 — 4 years 5 months; released on 15 January 2026 after completing his Hong Kong 47 sentence.
• Lester Shum Ngo-fai / 岑敖暉 — 4 years 6 months; released on 26 January 2026 after completing his sentence.
• Wu Chi-wai / 胡志偉 — 4 years 5 months; released on 30 June 2026 after serving his Hong Kong 47 sentence; later travelled to Britain, where his immigration status became a separate post-release issue.
• Andrew Wan Siu-kin / 尹兆堅 — 4 years 8 months; released on 4 July 2026 after completing his sentence.

Overseas dissidents and transnational-repression cases

These people are part of the Hong Kong dissident archive but are not counted as currently imprisoned solely because of overseas warrants, bounties, passport cancellation or exile.

• Joey Siu
• Sunny Cheung
• Frances Hui
• Finn Lau
• Simon Cheng
• Chloe Cheung
• Carmen Lau
• Tony Chung
• Mung Siu-tat
• Johnny Fok
• Tony Choi