Magnitsky Awards
Winner’s Bio

Chloe Cheung is a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist whose courage and determination have made her one of the youngest international voices challenging the Chinese Communist Party’s assault on fundamental freedoms. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she joined the city’s pro-democracy movement at just 14 during the 2019 protests, witnessing first-hand the police violence, mass arrests, and dismantling of civil liberties that reshaped her generation. After the imposition of the National Security Law, and facing the escalating risk of imprisonment, she entered self-exile in 2020 to continue her advocacy abroad.

Settling in the United Kingdom, Cheung founded Hong Kongers in Leeds, where she launched the Not Guilty – Stand With Hong Kong 47 campaign. The initiative mobilised thousands across more than twenty cities in solidarity with jailed pro-democracy leaders. She later joined the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, leading global campaigns calling for the release of political prisoners, safeguarding Hong Kongers from transnational repression, and urging democratic governments to impose targeted Magnitsky sanctions on officials responsible for human rights abuses in Hong Kong and China.

Her activism has come at a personal cost. In December 2024, Hong Kong authorities issued a HK$1 million bounty for her arrest under the National Security Law, making her one of the youngest activists ever targeted. She has since faced intimidation, surveillance, online sexualised harassment, and instances of being followed in London—part of a wider strategy to silence exiled Hong Kong dissidents.

Despite these threats, Cheung continues to speak out. She has testified before the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights and addressed major international platforms, including the Oslo Freedom Forum, where she exposed the CCP’s global repression and amplified the courage of those still resisting inside Hong Kong. Her advocacy has been featured across global media—from Al Jazeera, BBC, CBC, and Channel 4 to The Guardian, The New York Times, Sky News, and The Wall Street Journal—and she has written for outlets including The Independent, The Times, and The House Magazine.

In 2025, Cheung was shortlisted for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award (Campaigning) for her role in defending silenced communities and holding perpetrators to account.

At just 20 years old, Chloe Cheung receives the Magnitsky Award for Outstanding Young Human Rights Activist for her exceptional bravery, her leadership on the international stage, and her unshakeable commitment to a future in which Hong Kong’s people can live free from fear and repression. She represents the courage of a new generation refusing to surrender their rights—and refusing to be silenced.