VOC to Present Dissident Human Rights Award to Frances Hui

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the 2026 Dissident Human Rights Award will be presented to Frances Hui, a democracy and human rights activist from Hong Kong.  
 
Hui began her activism at the age of 14, serving as a standing committee member of Scholarism, a pro-democracy student initiative, and campaigning for multiple pro‑democracy candidates in Hong Kong. During the 2019–2020 protests against China’s assault on Hong Kong’s democratic system, Hui organized global solidarity efforts in support of freedom in the city. Following the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020, which allowed the CCP to extradite Hongkongers to communist China, Hui became the first Hong Kong activist to be granted asylum in the United States. In December 2023, the Hong Kong authorities placed a HK$1 million bounty on her under accusations of “colluding with foreign forces” pursuant to the National Security Law. Today, she is a policy and advocacy manager at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation and Director of We The Hongkongers.  
 
Frances Hui will be presented with the Dissident Human Rights Award on June 4 at VOC’s Tiananmen Square Massacre Candlelight Vigil. The event is open to the public, and all are welcome to join as we remember the victims of Beijing’s onslaught against democracy.  
 
Remarking on the award, Frances Hui commented:  
 
“When I became an activist as a teenager, I never imagined that this path would one day bring me here. To receive the Dissident Human Rights Award on June 4, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, is both a tremendous honor and a solemn reminder of the generations of Chinese and Hong Kong dissidents whose courage and perseverance awakened so many of us to the meaning of freedom. I accept this award with humility, knowing that many who are far more deserving—those who stood in Tiananmen Square in 1989, those now imprisoned in Hong Kong, and the millions of Hongkongers who once flooded the streets with slogans and ideals for democracy—continue to bear the cost of that struggle. Since leaving Hong Kong six years ago, I have carried with me the responsibility to speak for those the Chinese Communist Party has tried to silence. No bounty, intimidation, or threat against my loved ones will stop me from fighting until Hong Kong is free and my friends are freed.”  
 
Dr. Eric Patterson, VOC’s President and CEO said:  
 
“This award is presented to Frances Hui for her courageous advocacy on the global stage, her resilience in the pursuit of democratic ideals, and her selfless dedication to defending human dignity against communist overreach in Hong Kong. The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is honored to call Frances a Dissident Human Rights Award winner.”
 
For press inquiries, please reach out to Michal Harmata at michal.harmata@victimsofcommunism.org.