Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Tom Levitt

‘I don’t expect to live a normal life’: how a Leeds teenager woke up with a Chinese bounty on her head

A young Chinese woman in black looks solemnly at the camera
China offered a bounty of HK$1m (£94,000) to anyone helping to arrest or capture Chloe Cheung. After officials dragged a protester into the Chinese consulate in Manchester and beat him up, she fears it is ‘just a matter of time before someone is kidnapped or killed’. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

It was Christmas Eve 2024 and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung was lying in bed at home in Leeds when she found out the Chinese authorities had put a bounty on her head. As she scrolled through Instagram looking at festive songs, a stream of messages from old school friends started coming into her phone. Look at the news, they told her.

Media outlets across east Asia were reporting that Cheung, who had just finished her A-levels, had been declared a threat to national security by officials in Hong Kong. There was an offer of HK$1m (£94,000) to anyone who could assist in her arrest or capture.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.