US calls Hong Kong bounties 'transnational repression'

US calls Hong Kong bounties 'transnational repression'
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Dec 27, 2024

Hong Kong's announcement of bounties on six democracy campaigners based overseas "is a form of transnational repression," the US State Department said on Thursday.

The Chinese city announced bounties of HK$1 million (around $130,000) for information leading to the arrest of six individuals accused of national security crimes, including inciting secession, subversion and colluding with foreign forces.

Authorities also said they would cancel the passports of seven others for whom bounties have already been issued, including ex-lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok, local media reported.

"The extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's national security laws is a form of transnational repression that threatens US sovereignty and the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world," Matthew Miller, a US State Department spokesperson, said Thursday.

Political dissent in Hong Kong was effectively quashed by a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after huge, sometimes violent protests.

Many opposition figures fled abroad, while others have been arrested and sentenced to years in jail.

Hong Kong's bounty announcement this week was the third time authorities have offered rewards of HK$1 million for help capturing those wanted on national security charges.

The two previous rounds -- in July and December last year -- prompted criticism from rights groups while Hong Kong and China railed against "interference" from other countries.

Miller said that some of the activists affected by Hong Kong's latest bounty announcement were based in the United States.

"We reject the Hong Kong government's efforts to intimidate and silence individuals who choose to make the United States their home," Miller said.

"These actions demonstrate Hong Kong authorities' disregard for international norms and for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly."

Beijing this week defended the bounties as being issued "in accordance with the law."

"Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, and no one has extrajudicial privileges," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday.

The bounties are seen as largely symbolic given that they are for people living in nations unlikely to extradite political activists to Hong Kong or China.

Those affected include 29-year-old Carmen Lau, a former district councillor now living in Britain, former pollster Chung Kim-wah and Victor Ho Leung-mau, a 69-year-old YouTuber now based in Canada.