KANIS LEUNG
Updated Wed, June 12, 2024
In this image taken from video, former employee at the British consulate in Hong Kong Simon Cheng speaks during an interview in London, on July 3, 2020. The Hong Kong government on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 canceled the passports of six overseas-based activists including Cheng under the new national security law, stepping up its crackdown on dissidents who moved overseas.
HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong government on Wednesday canceled the passports of six overseas-based activists under the new national security law, stepping up its crackdown on dissidents who moved abroad.
Among them were former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, unionist Mung Siu-tat and activists Simon Cheng, Finn Lau, Johnny Fok and Tony Choi — all accused of endangering national security by authorities in the southern Chinese city. The government said they have “absconded” to the U.K.
Last year, police offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) each for information leading to their arrests and drew sharp criticism from Western governments.
Authorities also banned anyone from providing funds or economic resources to the six, leasing properties to them or forming any joint venture with them, or risk a penalty of up to seven years in prison.
The government said it acted because the six were continuing to engage in activities that endanger national security, smearing the city and colluding with external forces.
“We have to combat, deter and to prevent those people who have committed the offenses relating to endangering national security through absconds,” said Secretary for Security Chris Tang said. He said the six activists were sheltered in the U.K. and accused some British officials and media outlets of attempting to damage the rule of law in the financial hub and influence judicial decisions in some national security cases.
Tang, when asked whether subscribing to the activists' accounts on Patreon and YouTube is illegal, said anyone who provides funds to them would be seen as violating the rules, regardless of the platform.
The measures were taken under the new powers granted by Hong Kong's homegrown national security law enacted in March.
Beijing imposed a similar national security law on the territory in 2020 that has effectively wiped out most public dissent following huge anti-government protests in 2019. Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile.
Both the Chinese and Hong Kong governments insisted the law restored stability after the protests.
Over 144,400 people from Hong Kong have moved to the U.K. using a special visa that allows them to live and work in the country and apply for British citizenship after six years. The U.K. introduced the pathway in 2021, in response to the 2020 security law.
Additionally, the British government granted asylum to activists Law and Cheng.
Law said on Facebook he had submitted his passport to U.K. authorities when he applied for asylum in 2020, and has not collected it back, calling the government's statement "a redundant move." He urged people who remain in Hong Kong to prioritize their safety if the other restrictions under the new law worry them.
Lau said on X that he never owned a Hong Kong passport, so “it is ridiculous to cancel something that never exists.” He said the latest measure is an act of transnational repression, but that it would not deter him from advocating for human rights and democracy.
Mung also vowed to continued to fight for Hong Kong, while Cheng said the government's moves were politically motivated and ineffective, adding that their lives in the U.K would not be affected.
In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the measures taken by Hong Kong authorities were legitimate and necessary to safeguard the city's rule of law and national security. He stressed that the city's affairs are China's internal affairs and “brook no external interference.”
Hong Kong's political changes have long been a source of tension between the U.K. and the city government, as well as with Beijing due to the territory's unique history as a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997 with a promise to keep freedoms of expression and assembly.
Last week, two British judges confirmed they resigned from the city's top court, with one citing as the reason "the political situation in Hong Kong.” The other published a strongly worded article on Monday that said the rule of law in the city is in “grave danger” and that judges operate in an “impossible political environment created by China.”
That article drew swift criticism from the Hong Kong government.
In May, U.K. authorities charged three men with agreeing to engage in information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to materially assist the Hong Kong intelligence service. One of the trio was later found dead in a park.
Chinese authorities in the U.K. and Hong Kong have decried the charges, saying they were the latest in a series of “groundless and slanderous” accusations that the U.K. government has leveled against China.
Hong Kong cancels passports of six democracy activists
Holmes CHAN
AFP
Wed, June 12, 2024
Former legislator and pro-democracy activist Nathan Law is among the six people who had their Hong Kong passports cancelled by the government (HENRY NICHOLLS)
The Hong Kong government said Wednesday it had cancelled the passports of six democracy activists who fled to the United Kingdom, calling them "lawless wanted criminals".
Hong Kong has intensified a crackdown on dissent since authorities quashed massive, at times violent, pro-democracy protests in 2019, enacting security laws that critics such as Britain and the United States say have curbed its unique freedoms.
The city issued HK$1 million ($128,000) bounties last year for 13 activists based abroad who authorities accused of committing national security crimes.
The six identified Wednesday -- all on the bounty list -- are considered "lawless wanted criminals... hiding in the United Kingdom", a government spokesperson said in a statement.
"They continue to blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security. They also make scaremongering remarks to smear and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."
Besides cancelling their Hong Kong passports, police said anyone offering funds, leasing property or running a business with them could face up to seven years in jail.
The six are former lawmaker Nathan Law, veteran unionist Christopher Mung Siu-tat, and activists Finn Lau, Fok Ka-chi, Choi Ming-da and Simon Cheng.
Hong Kong officials cited a national security law passed in March, colloquially known as Article 23, as the legal basis for cancelling their passports.
Security chief Chris Tang said the measures were "necessary" because the six were "harboured in the United Kingdom and continue to collude with foreign forces".
Asked if people would violate the law by subscribing to the activists' content on online platforms such as Patreon and YouTube, Tang said "it is an offence to provide funds or to handle funds for those specified absconders, no matter what platform it is".
Lau said he had only ever held a British National Overseas passport, which is available to Hong Kongers born in the former British colony before the 1997 handover to China.
"It is ridiculous to cancel (a Hong Kong passport) that never exists," he said on X, adding it "does not deter me from advocating human rights & democracy".
Mung called the passport cancellations "shameless political retaliation".
"The regime can cancel my passport but it can never revoke my identity as a Hong Konger... One day I will get back my Hong Kong passport from a liberal, democratic system," Mung told AFP.
Cheng, who founded the civil society group Hongkongers in Britain, said the measures had little effect on his daily life but condemned the government for trying to "isolate us from our supporters and allies".
China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian blasted the six, saying their "nasty behaviour seriously endangered national security, seriously damaged the fundamental interests of Hong Kong, and seriously attacked the bottom line of 'one country, two systems'."
- Bounties issued -
Under the Sino-British agreement for the handover, Hong Kong enjoys more freedoms and rights than its mainland counterparts and once had a robust opposition bloc that advocated for more democratic processes.
Wednesday's move came on the fifth anniversary of a violent clash between protesters and police that marked a major escalation in the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
After quashing the protests, Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on Hong Kong in 2020 which critics say has broken down the legal firewall that once existed between the city and mainland China.
The law, under which nearly 300 have been arrested, also claims the power to hold accused people accountable across the world.
Article 23, the homegrown security law passed in March, granted Hong Kong authorities further enforcement powers.
The six identified Wednesday have been accused of security crimes, including incitement to secession, incitement to subversion and foreign collusion, that could land them in prison for life.
City leader John Lee, who is under US sanctions for his role as security chief in 2019, said last year they would be "pursued for life".
Five others in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly providing financial support for the wanted activists. They were later released on bail.
Around 40 family members and former colleagues have also been taken in for police questioning over the past year.
su-hol/dhc/pbt
Wed, June 12, 2024
Former legislator and pro-democracy activist Nathan Law is among the six people who had their Hong Kong passports cancelled by the government (HENRY NICHOLLS)
The Hong Kong government said Wednesday it had cancelled the passports of six democracy activists who fled to the United Kingdom, calling them "lawless wanted criminals".
Hong Kong has intensified a crackdown on dissent since authorities quashed massive, at times violent, pro-democracy protests in 2019, enacting security laws that critics such as Britain and the United States say have curbed its unique freedoms.
The city issued HK$1 million ($128,000) bounties last year for 13 activists based abroad who authorities accused of committing national security crimes.
The six identified Wednesday -- all on the bounty list -- are considered "lawless wanted criminals... hiding in the United Kingdom", a government spokesperson said in a statement.
"They continue to blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security. They also make scaremongering remarks to smear and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."
Besides cancelling their Hong Kong passports, police said anyone offering funds, leasing property or running a business with them could face up to seven years in jail.
The six are former lawmaker Nathan Law, veteran unionist Christopher Mung Siu-tat, and activists Finn Lau, Fok Ka-chi, Choi Ming-da and Simon Cheng.
Hong Kong officials cited a national security law passed in March, colloquially known as Article 23, as the legal basis for cancelling their passports.
Security chief Chris Tang said the measures were "necessary" because the six were "harboured in the United Kingdom and continue to collude with foreign forces".
Asked if people would violate the law by subscribing to the activists' content on online platforms such as Patreon and YouTube, Tang said "it is an offence to provide funds or to handle funds for those specified absconders, no matter what platform it is".
Lau said he had only ever held a British National Overseas passport, which is available to Hong Kongers born in the former British colony before the 1997 handover to China.
"It is ridiculous to cancel (a Hong Kong passport) that never exists," he said on X, adding it "does not deter me from advocating human rights & democracy".
Mung called the passport cancellations "shameless political retaliation".
"The regime can cancel my passport but it can never revoke my identity as a Hong Konger... One day I will get back my Hong Kong passport from a liberal, democratic system," Mung told AFP.
Cheng, who founded the civil society group Hongkongers in Britain, said the measures had little effect on his daily life but condemned the government for trying to "isolate us from our supporters and allies".
China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian blasted the six, saying their "nasty behaviour seriously endangered national security, seriously damaged the fundamental interests of Hong Kong, and seriously attacked the bottom line of 'one country, two systems'."
- Bounties issued -
Under the Sino-British agreement for the handover, Hong Kong enjoys more freedoms and rights than its mainland counterparts and once had a robust opposition bloc that advocated for more democratic processes.
Wednesday's move came on the fifth anniversary of a violent clash between protesters and police that marked a major escalation in the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
After quashing the protests, Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on Hong Kong in 2020 which critics say has broken down the legal firewall that once existed between the city and mainland China.
The law, under which nearly 300 have been arrested, also claims the power to hold accused people accountable across the world.
Article 23, the homegrown security law passed in March, granted Hong Kong authorities further enforcement powers.
The six identified Wednesday have been accused of security crimes, including incitement to secession, incitement to subversion and foreign collusion, that could land them in prison for life.
City leader John Lee, who is under US sanctions for his role as security chief in 2019, said last year they would be "pursued for life".
Five others in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly providing financial support for the wanted activists. They were later released on bail.
Around 40 family members and former colleagues have also been taken in for police questioning over the past year.
su-hol/dhc/pbt
No comments:
Post a Comment