Hong Kong’s national security police have questioned Derek and Mimi Yuen, the son and eldest daughter of self-exiled activist Elmer Yuen, a 74-year-old US-based businessman accused of urging foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials and members of the Judiciary between July 2020 and May 2023 on various online platforms, media reports said on Monday.
This comes after the national security police on 3 July issued arrest warrants for eight overseas activists, including Elmer Yuen, for plotting to undermine Hong Kong’s status as a financial center. The wanted individuals are now based in Australia, the US, and the UK, and a reward of HK$1 million is offered for each of them.
Elmer Yuen’s daughter Mimi Yuen reportedly flew from Los Angeles to Hong Kong when she was taken into custody on Monday morning from somewhere in Hong Kong. The police took her into custody for interrogation at around 10 am.
Daughter-in-law and pro-establishment legislator Eunice Yung
Elmer Yuen is also the father-in-law of Eunice Yung, a member of the New People’s Party. Her husband and Elmer Yuen’s son, Derek Yuen, is a former advisor for the party and a scholar of international policy based in Hong Kong.
Derek told a media outlet last week that he had a brief meeting with his father but avoided any financial exchanges.
Derek Yuen’s wife publicly severed her relationship with her father-in-law in 2022 and has urged him to return to Hong Kong and surrender following the police arrest warrants.
Erica Yuen, Elmer Yuen’s youngest daughter, is a former politician and businessman who emigrated to Vancouver with her husband in 2021. Both Erica and Mimi run the retail stores Mi Ming Mart together.
Elmer Yuen was also allegedly involved in a plan to form a “Hong Kong Parliament” advocating for Hongkongers’ right to self-determination, which the police claim amounted to subverting state power and foreign collusion.
The Hong Kong national security law is a piece of legislation introduced in Hong Kong in 2020 by the Chinese government. The law was introduced in response to the mass protests and civil unrest that occurred in Hong Kong in 2019.
The national security law applies internationally to all individuals, according to its wording.
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Chief Executive John Lee and pro-establishment parties have expressed support for the warrants and encouraged anyone, including friends and family members of the wanted individuals, to assist in their arrests.
Activist groups and Western countries have criticised the arrest warrants on the activitsts, stating that the extraterritorial application of the Beijing-enacted law sets a dangerous precedent and threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people worldwide, particularly the wanted activists based in the US, including Kwok and Elmer Yuen.
