Hong Kong leader John Lee has announced that the eight pro-democracy activists who have left the country and are now living abroad will be prosecuted for crimes against national security. The decision comes despite criticism that the arrests set a dangerous precedent. Lee supported the police in their efforts to apprehend the eight activists and encouraged rewards for anyone providing information leading to their arrest.
“The only way to end their fate of hiding and being hunted for life is to turn themselves in,” he said.
Arrest warrants were issued for former pro-democracy MPs Nathan Lowe, Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok, lawyer Kevin Yam, trade union activist Mung Siew-tat and activists Phin Lau, Anna Kwok and Elmer Yuen. They were accused of violating the Beijing-imposed national security law by committing crimes such as colluding with foreign powers and inciting secession.
More than 260 people have been arrested under the law, passed in 2020 as part of a broad crackdown on dissent in the territory, but the HK$1 million ($127,600) rewards for information leading to each arrest were the first under the law.
The move quickly drew the ire of the US and UK governments, which opposed the extraterritorial application of the security law. The US said it was a dangerous precedent that threatened human rights. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong tweeted that her country was “deeply concerned” by reports that Hong Kong authorities were issuing arrest warrants for democracy advocates.
But Lee insisted that extraterritorial power exists in the national security laws of many countries. He said his government would not be swayed by comments from foreign officials and politicians.
“I am not afraid of any political pressure on us because we are doing what we believe is right,” he said.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said China strongly condemned “blatant slander” by other countries against Hong Kong’s national security law. “Justice will never be delayed or absent,” she said.
Hong Kong’s action did not stop activists from speaking out.
Luo, who is accused of foreign collusion and inciting secession, said on his Facebook that the latest development signaled that he was once again targeted by the Chinese Communist Party and that he felt the “invisible pressure”. However, he refused to surrender.
“Everything I did was reasonable, justified and peaceful advocacy work,” said the British activist.
Yam told Australian media that the move was not entirely unexpected. “The only remaining dissenting voices now are outside Hong Kong, and that’s where they’re expanding to next,” he said.
Meng also promised in a statement that he would not stop advocating for Hong Kong labor rights abroad.
“If I am ever found guilty, my only ‘crime’ will be to speak the truth about my fellow Hong Kong citizens,” he said.
Anna Kwok said on Twitter that she will not back down. She reiterated her call to bar Lee, who has been sanctioned by Washington for his role in a brutal crackdown on rights in Hong Kong, from attending November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in the US
Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has come under increasing scrutiny from Beijing after months of mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
On Monday, police admitted they would not be able to arrest the eight if they remained abroad.
Eunice Jung, a pro-Beijing lawmaker and Yuen’s sister-in-law, supported the police move and reiterated that she had already cut ties with Yuen last August.
“All his actions have nothing to do with me,” she said on her Facebook page.
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2023-07-04 14:30:00
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