police offer 117,000 euro rewards for arrest of exiled dissidents

Hong Kong police have angered London and Washington by repeating cash bounties for the location and arrest of five pro-democracy activists in exile.

Hong Kong continues the hunt for opponents beyond its borders. Five pro-democracy activists in exile are even in the crosshairs of the authorities. The Department of National Security released their portraits on Thursday, December 14, during a press conference. The five activists are accused of inciting subversion and collusion with foreign forces. They are therefore traitors who endanger their country, even from abroad. They complete a list established in July, which already includes eight names of other activists, considered fugitives. One million Hong Kong dollars, or more than 117,000 euros, have even been promised, since the creation of this list, in exchange for any information leading to their arrest.

Some 90,000 Hong Kongers went into exile

Hong Kong, like Macau, is one of the two “special administrative regions” of the People’s Republic of China. In 2019, residents rose up against a bill on the extradition of political opponents in China. After official apologies and above all the abandonment of the bill, the Despite everything, protests continued, demanding more broadly Beijing’s non-interference in the democratic process.

But in May 2020, the Chinese government tightened the screw by extending to Hong Kong the national security law, already applied in Macao since 2009. This law, which aims in particular to prohibit “subversion, sedition and secession” led to the arrest of thousands of demonstrators, as well as the exile of nearly 90,000 Hong Kongers between June 2020 and June 2021, towardsAustralia, Japan, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

A “blatant disregard” for international standards

Under its special regime, Hong Kong previously enjoyed significant freedoms compared to the mainland. But in 2020, since the national security law, a draconian text modeled on Chinese legislation, the authorities, in addition to sending thousands of people to prison, no longer make any concessions to the demonstrators and have embarked on a process of total blocking of freedom of expression.

These five activists therefore took the route of exile in 2020 towards Great Britain or the United States, both of which reacted very badly to this new announcement from Hong Kong. In Washington, the State Department spokesperson denounces “blatant disregard” international standards, emphasizing that “Hong Kong authorities have no jurisdiction within the borders of the United States”. Same tone in London, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Cameron, asked his officials to put “emergency” the subject on the carpet with their counterparts. “We will not tolerate any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate individuals in the United Kingdom”he said, It’s a threat to our democracy.”

Among the main interested parties, Joey Siuwho was granted political asylum in the United States, writes on social networks that she does not “will never be silenced”. Simon Chenga prominent pro-democracy activist currently in the United Kingdom and who founded the group “Hong Kongers in Britain” jokes on Twitter: “It’s an honor. If the government considers the pursuit of democracy and freedom to be a crime, then we accept these charges.” The Hong Kong authorities have promised to pursue their opponents throughout their lives if necessary.