On 12 April 1927, KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek staged an anti-communist coup in Shanghai and other cities. Ho went into hiding and fled to Hong Kong on 5 May. Chinese police raided his residence in Guangzhou on the same day. Ho then traveled to various countries, finally arriving in Bangkok in July 1928. In August, he sent a letter to Zeng: "Although we have been separated for almost a year, our feelings for each other do not have to be said in order to be felt. At present, I am taking advantage of this opportunity to send you a few words to reassure you, and also to send my greetings and good wishes to your mother." This letter was intercepted by the Sûreté. Although she was uninterested in politics, Zeng is recorded as a member of the (Chinese) Communist Youth League from July 1927 to June 1929. According to one report, Zeng visited Ho in the winter of 1929-1930 when he was in Hong Kong. In May 1930, Ho sent a letter asking Zeng to meet him in Shanghai, but her boss hid the letter and she did not receive it in time. Ho was arrested by British police in Hong Kong on 6 June 1931. Unknown to him, Zeng attended his court hearing on 10 July 1931, the last time she would see him. To evade a French request for extradition, the British announced in 1932 that Ho was dead and later released him.