Hong Kong Activist in UK Faces Harassment Campaign with AI-Generated Images
Carmen Lau, 30, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist living in Maidenhead, UK, since 2021 after fleeing Hong Kong amidst the National Security Law crackdown, is the target of a harassment campaign involving letters sent to her neighbours. These letters contain fake AI-generated or photoshopped explicit images portraying her naked or in underwear and offering sexual services.
Last year, about a dozen neighbours in Berkshire received similar letters allegedly from the police offering a £95,000 bounty to capture her and hand her over to the Chinese embassy in London. The new letters were sent from Macau, near Hong Kong.
Lau expressed shock at the campaign and noted that gender-based harassment of pro-democracy activists has occurred before, but AI has amplified this intimidation, representing transnational repression.
Local MP Joshua Reynolds alerted Lau to the letters and stated that the government must make clear such actions are unacceptable. He has raised the issue with the Home Office and Foreign Office.
Police have informed Lau that they will be investigating the case. The government has said the safety and security of Hong Kongers in the UK is of utmost importance, condemns such intimidation, and is making ongoing efforts to raise concerns about transnational repression with Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.
