In a transfer that has drawn condemnation from Western international locations and human rights teams, the Hong Kong police have issued arrest warrants and bounties for eight distinguished pro-democracy activists at the moment in self-imposed exile. On Monday, the Hong Kong police introduced a reward of HK$1 million (US$127,600) for every goal for giving info that would assist seize the eight targets who at the moment reside abroad.
The people named within the arrest warrants are former legislators Nathan Regulation, Dennis Kwok, Ted Hui, unionist Mung Siu-tat, lawyer Kevin Yam, and activists Finn Lau, Anna Kwok, and Elmer Yuan who’re at the moment primarily based in the USA, Canada, Britain, and Australia. All of them have been accused of violating the Nationwide Safety Regulation by colliding with international forces.
Hong Kong’s Nationwide Safety Regulation took impact on 30 June 2020, giving Beijing monumental powers and management over the once-autonomous area. The regulation criminalizes any actions of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with international or exterior forces.
Picture Supply: Reuters
These eight people have been discovered responsible by the Hong Kong police for participating in critical crimes that threaten nationwide safety, advocating for sanctions, undermining Hong Kong’s integrity, and intimidating native officers. Moreover, they plotted with international nations to undermine Hong Kong’s monetary standing. The crimes can carry a sentence of life in jail. All of those people departed Hong Kong in the course of the peak of the 2019 protests in opposition to the extradition invoice and following the implementation of Beijing’s Nationwide Safety Regulation in 2020.
Western Nations Condemn Hong Kong Police
Australia, the UK, and the USA have denounced the Hong Police’s contravening announcement to seize the pro-democracy activists.
The US State Division spokesperson, Matthew Miller, expressed that the extraterritorial software of the Beijing-imposed Nationwide Safety Regulation poses a harmful precedent that jeopardizes the human rights and basic freedoms of individuals worldwide.
International, Commonwealth, and Growth Secretary James Cleverly of the UK stated, “We strongly object to the Nationwide Safety Regulation that China imposed on Hong Kong, together with its extraterritorial attain, in breach of the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration.” Australia’s international affairs minister, Penny Wong, stated Australia is deeply disenchanted and anxious in regards to the deep erosion of Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms, and autonomy.”
Human Rights Watch has urged international governments to talk out in opposition to the “Chinese language authorities’s international intimidation marketing campaign in opposition to Hong Kong individuals at residence and overseas.”
Activists Urge Non-Cooperation with Hong Kong Authorities
Picture Supply: The New York Occasions
The activists focused within the arrest warrants have urged others to not cooperate with the Hong Kong authorities.
Mr. Nathan Regulation, one of many activists, stated he felt “comparatively protected” within the UK; nonetheless, he must be extra cautious in regards to the individuals he meets and the locations he goes. He tweeted, “We must always not restrict ourselves, self-censor, be intimidated, or reside in concern.” One other exiled activist, Anna Kwok, government director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, at the moment residing within the US, acknowledged, “We’re united in our struggle for freedom and democracy in our residence, Hong Kong.” The Australian-based lawyer Kevin Yam has vowed that he won’t be silenced, and he has an obligation to his fellow activists who’re jailed in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Chief Vows Pursuit of Activists
On Tuesday, the Chief Government of Hong Kong, John Lee stated that the exiled activists could be “pursued for all times.” Whereas the police can’t arrest them from overseas, Lee stated the authorities would constantly monitor their actions and behavior, and their solely future is to give up.
In response to the imposition of the Nationwide Safety Regulation on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020 UK, the US, Australia, and Canada, the international locations the place the accused activists at the moment reside, have suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong. Regardless that the accused trusted these governments to not adjust to Hong Kong police’s request to show them over, the arrest warrants have made their journey to different international locations extraordinarily unsafe.
