The Hong Kong leader on Tuesday called for eight pro-democracy activists exiled and wanted by police to be handed over or “living in fear”, with China in turn calling the UK’s protection “refugees”.
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Relations between Hong Kong, a territory returned to China in 1997, and the former British colonial power have been strained since a national security law was passed in 2020 amid pro-democracy protests.
Its critics accuse the text of restricting freedoms in Hong Kong and driving people into exile linked to the demonstrations that shook the metropolis from June to December 2019, at times violently.
Police have promised a Hong Kong $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of eight pro-democracy activists.
They are accused of collaborating with foreign forces to endanger national security, an act punishable by life imprisonment.
“The only way to end their fate as refugees who have been hunted all their lives is to surrender,” Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday.
Otherwise, they would live “in fear,” he assured journalists.
Mr Lee also urged people to help the police, adding that even “relatives and friends” of activists could provide information.
This measure has been denounced by the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, countries where some of the wanted activists reside.
“Be silent”
“I’m not afraid of political pressure on us because we do what we think is right,” the Hong Kong leader said.
Among the targets is Nathan Law, one of the pro-democracy leaders who fled Hong Kong to the UK, where he was granted political asylum.
“We will not tolerate attempts by China to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK and abroad,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement on Monday.
“The UK will always uphold the universal right to freedom of expression and stand up for those who are targeted,” the minister added.
China sharply criticized Tuesday’s remarks.
“British politicians are openly offering refugee protection,” a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the UK said, condemning London’s “meddling” in China’s internal affairs.
The US also spoke out against the reward system promised by the Hong Kong authorities.
“The extraterritorial application of Beijing-imposed national security law sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens around the world,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned in a statement Monday.
” Ridiculous “
Since Beijing introduced the national security law, the United Kingdom and the United States have suspended their extradition deal with Hong Kong.
Nathan Law, a prominent figure in the pro-democracy movement, urged Hong Kongers not to cooperate with the police. “I’m just a Hong Konger speaking on behalf of Hong Kongers,” he tweeted.
Another defendant, Ted Hui Chi-fung, a former Hong Kong lawyer now in exile in Australia, called the reward system “ridiculous”.
This promise of rewards by the Hong Kong authorities comes after the 26th anniversary of the return of the former British colony to China on July 1, 1997.
Since the central government in Beijing introduced a national security law in Hong Kong, 260 people have been arrested and more than 160 others and five companies have been charged.
This legislation challenges the independence of the judiciary that the former British colony was supposed to enjoy for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” principle that gives Hong Kong a degree of autonomy.