Hong Kong places arrest bounties on activists abroad for breaching national security law

Hong Kong police accused five activists based overseas of breaching a harsh national security law imposed by Beijing and offered rewards for information leading to each of their arrests.

Hong Kong police accused five activists based overseas of breaching a harsh national security law imposed by Beijing and offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) on December 14 for information leading to each of their arrests.

The development further intensified the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on dissidents after anti-government protests in 2019. Many leading pro-democracy activists were arrested, silenced, or forced into self-exile after the introduction of the security law in 2020, in a sign that freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997 had been eroded drastically.

But both Beijing and Hong Kong governments have hailed the security law for bringing back stability to the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

Arrest warrants were issued for Johnny Fok and Tony Choi, who host a YouTube channel focusing on current affairs, and pro-democracy activists Simon Cheng, Hui Wing-ting and Joey Siu. Police refused to say anything about their whereabouts, but their social media profiles and earlier media reports indicated they had moved to the United States and Britain.

In July, Hong Kong warned eight other activists who now live abroad that they would be pursued for life under bounties put on them. It was the first such use under the security law, and the authorities’ announcement drew criticism from Western governments.

Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police national security department, said authorities received some 500 pieces of information since the last round of bounties was announced. While some of the information was valuable to the police, no arrest of the eight has yet been made.

Li said the five activists newly added to the wanted list had committed various offenses, including colluding with foreign forces and incitement to secession.