Hong Kong’s top leader said on Tuesday that eight dissidents who had fled abroad would be “wanted for life” with large rewards offered in exchange for information leading to the killing. prosecute them.
The HK$1 million ($128,000) reward reflects an increased effort to pressure and intimidate influential activists who left Hong Kong after a strict new law was imposed in 2020. The so-called national security law has resulted in the arrest of 260 people, the majority of them. accused for activities took place in Hong Kong.
On Monday, police highlighted the extra-territorial reach of the regulations, which criminalize activities that endanger China, even when they take place outside of Hong Kong and mainland China. They allege that the defendant violated the regulations on foreign collusion and instigating secession.
The eight people charged by police are activists Nathan Law, Anna Kwok and Finn Lau; two former legislators, Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui; an attorney, Kevin Yam; a union leader, Mung Siu-tat, and businessman and YouTuber Elmer Yuen.
Ms. Kwok, head of the Hong Kong Democratic Council in Washington, remains defiant. “It encourages me to go faster and stronger,” she said in a phone interview.
Can activists be extradited?
The government’s announcement that it is seeking to arrest eight people raises questions about whether Hong Kong will appeal to Interpol, the international law enforcement ombudsman, for help in tracking down dissidents. opinion or not. Ronny Tong, a former MP who served in the cabinet of John Lee, the chief executive of Hong Kong, said the extradition of activists abroad was unlikely.
“Hong Kong law adheres very strictly to the United Nations model law on extradition, which means we will not be asking for the extradition of political offenders or defendants with a political background,” he said in a statement. phone interview.
However, he added that activists could be detained while traveling through “friendly countries”. And the Hong Kong government can still request legal assistance from international agencies, such as intelligence on the whereabouts of eight individuals and their activities, which could be used to prosecute. they are in Hong Kong.
When asked if they would seek Interpol’s help, Hong Kong police said in a statement on Tuesday that they would “take all necessary measures under the law to stop fugitives”. there”.
What prompted the arrest warrant and the bounty?
Legal scholars say the charges and bounty are aimed at sowing division among exiled activists, isolating and stigmatizing them as they agitate for new legislation in the US, UK and Australia to response to Hong Kong’s crackdown.
Thomas E. Kellogg, executive director of the Asian Law Center, said: “There is an opinion that they are dangerous criminals, when in reality they are moderate critics of authoritarian direction. of the Hong Kong government. He added that these moves could backfire and instead put greater pressure on governments to take action against Hong Kong.
Bounties are an extension of tactics used by Beijing to target activists abroad, such as Chinese police outpost, said Eric Lai, an expert on Hong Kong law. Last March, the US Department of Justice accused five people of espionage or intimidate Chinese-American dissidents on American soil.
Hong Kong police acknowledge the difficulty of arresting individuals living in exile abroad, but they have offered a reward of $128,000 in exchange for information that can be used as evidence before local courts means of “successfully prosecuting” individuals. One of the main goals, police added, is to ensure that authorities have enough evidence to charge individuals if they voluntarily return to Hong Kong.
“If they don’t come back, we won’t be able to arrest them – that’s true,” police chief Li Kwai-wah said at a news conference. “But we won’t stop pursuing them.”
The leader of Hong Kong, John Lee, is more specific. “The only way to end your fate as a fugitive who will be chased for life is to surrender,” he said Tuesday.
How have other governments reacted?
The allegations have sparked an outcry from officials in the United States, Britain and Australia, where the eight individuals currently live. The State Department called the extraterritorial application of national security legislation “a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people worldwide.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was “deeply concerned” about the arrest warrant and would continue to speak out on human rights issues. “Freedom of speech and assembly are essential to our democracy and we support those in Australia exercising those rights,” she wrote on Twitter in Monday.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a declare on Monday that Britain “will not tolerate any attempt by China to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK and abroad”.
But the spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in London accused British politicians of “openly sheltering wanted fugitives” and in turn meddling in China’s internal affairs.
