Hong Kong cancels passports, prohibits financial support for militants abroad sought
The Hong Kong authorities strengthened a repression against 16 activists abroad on Monday who were previously targeted by premiums suspected of endangering national security, to implement measures which include their financial support and the cancellation of passports for most of them.
Activists were part of 19 targeted people with arrest warrants in July for alleged roles in the Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy group that the police called a subversive organization abroad. The organization is not the official legislature of the region and its influence is limited.
Last year, three of the 19 original activists were already targeted by similar measures.
Security Secretary Chris Tang has prohibited providing economic funds or resources to 16 activists, notably Victor Ho, Keung Ka-Wai, Australian Academic Chongyi Feng and US citizen Gong Sasha, the Hong Kong government said in a statement.
The travel documents were canceled for 12 of the 16s which hold Hong Kong passports.
Hong Kong police have published a new wave of arrest mandates against 19 activists abroad, some of whom in British Columbia. Ottawa condemns this decision, calling it a threat to Canadian security and sovereignty. CBC Michelle Ghoussoub reports.
The government has also prohibited the properties of being rented to people on the list or to train joint ventures with them. Anyone who raped the orders risks a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
The 16 activists hide in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan, among other regions, the government said, accusing them of continuing to engage in activities endangering national security.
The opinion also accused them of having intended to encourage hatred against Beijing and Hong Kong through smear and slander.
“So we have taken such measures to have a significant impact,” said the press release.
The Hong Kong police announced on Tuesday arrest mandates against six activists abroad, including two Canadian citizens, and offered bonuses of $ 185,000 for information leading to their arrests. Cheuk Kwan with the Toronto association for democracy in China explains how its community is affected and how Canada should react.
Beijing imposed a law on national security on the territory in 2020 which has effectively erased most of the public dissidents after huge anti-government demonstrations in 2019. Many activists have been arrested, silenced or forced to the self-express.
The measures announced on Monday were issued under the powers granted by the Hong Kong National Security Act promulgated last year.
The arrest warrants issued in July aroused criticism of foreign governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The police have offered awards ranging from $ 200,000 in Hong Kong ($ 35,114 CDN) to a million dollars in Hong Kong ($ 175,574 CDN) for information leading to their arrests.
Article 23, a controversial law of national security in Hong Kong, has entered into force. Many fear that the repression against dissent is further eroded civil freedoms.
In a July press release, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the movements.
“The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who exercise their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression,” he said. “We will not tolerate attempts by the government of Hong Kong to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate the Americans or anyone on American soil.”
The Hong Kong office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded with opposite criticism of foreign politicians, insisting that the actions were legitimate.
The governments of Beijing and Hong Kong said that security laws were necessary for the stability of the region.
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