Hong Kong police announce rewards for pro-democracy activists abroad Human rights news

Police in Chinese territory are offering rewards of $130,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of six activists.

Hong Kong authorities have placed bounties on six pro-democracy activists accused of harming national security in the latest crackdown to highlight the narrowing space for dissent in the financial hub.

Tuesday’s police announcement is the third time authorities have offered rewards of HK$1 million ($130,000) for information leading to the arrest of pro-democracy advocates based abroad.

The list of those wanted in Chinese territory now includes 19 activists accused of crimes of secession, sabotage, or collusion.

Hong Kong Security Minister Chris Tang said the activists had endangered national security through activities such as lobbying for sanctions on Hong Kong officials and judges.

Newly added activists include Tony Chung, former head of the pro-Hong Kong independence group Studentlocalism, Joseph Tai, founder of the Canada-based advocacy organization Hong Kong Station, and Carmen Lau of the Hong Kong Democratic Council.

The others are Chung Kim Wah, a former pollster at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, Victor Ho, a YouTuber based in Canada, and Chloe Cheung of the Hong Kong Freedom Commission.

“Since I escaped, I have often regretted not being able to serve my people to the end,” Lau said in a post on X.

“Therefore, as a member of the diaspora and as a Hong Konger, I vow to put our fight for Hong Kong before anything else, even before myself.”

Authorities also said they had canceled the passports of seven activists previously added to the wanted list, including former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui.

Once home to a powerful political opposition and one of the freest media environments in Asia, Hong Kong criminalizes virtually all dissent under strict security laws introduced in response to mass anti-government protests in 2019.

Western governments and human rights groups have condemned the crackdown in the former British colony, while officials in mainland China and Hong Kong have defended the laws as necessary to restore stability after 2019’s often violent demonstrations.

It is unlikely that any of the 19 people on the wanted list will be extradited to Hong Kong because they live in Western countries that have expressed concern about the curtailment of rights and freedoms in the city.

Kevin Yam, an Australia-based lawyer who was added to the most wanted list last July after being accused of collusion with a foreign power, said the latest rewards would undermine the city’s efforts to revive its international reputation, which has been damaged by crackdowns and some attacks. Some of the strictest border controls in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I would say is that every time Hong Kong tries to relaunch itself, its government does something repressive to undermine all of that,” Yam told Al Jazeera.

“And they are childish enough to think that in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, delivering ‘bad news’ on Christmas Eve can make things seem less bad for them.”