‘We call on the Hong Kong government to stop using its national security laws to silence dissent,’ said Gregory May, U.S. consul general in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government is facing international criticism after it announced on Dec. 24 a fresh round of arrest warrants for six pro-democracy campaigners and revoked the passports of seven others.
Chris Tang, Hong Kong’s security secretary, accused the six pro-democracy activists of committing crimes, from incitement to secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign forces.
Tang said the six had compromised natural security by advocating for Hong Kong officials and judges to be sanctioned by foreign governments via speeches, social media posts, and lobbying.
Four are UK-based individuals: Chung Kim-wah, 64, a former pollster at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute; Tony Chung, 23, a former convener of the now-defunct pro-independence group Studentlocalism in Hong Kong; Chloe Cheung, 19, a current activist with the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; and Carmen Lau, 29, a former district councilor in Hong Kong and current senior international advocacy associate with the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC).
The latest move adds to the 13 names already on the Hong Kong Police Force’s wanted list for alleged violations of the Beijing-imposed national security law, bringing the total to 19. Last year, eight activists were added to the list in July and another five in December. A bounty of HK$1 million (about $128,000) per individual has been set.
The Hong Kong government’s announcement followed the publication of a China report from the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) just days earlier. The report stated that Hong Kong has become “nearly indistinguishable from any other neon-lit city on the Chinese mainland” and that Hong Kong authorities “may now be more zealous than their mainland counterparts in enforcing national security laws.”
In response to questions from The Epoch Times, a U.S. State Department spokesperson denounced the new bounties and passport cancellations targeting overseas pro-democracy activists.
“We call on the Hong Kong government to stop using its national security laws to silence dissent,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
In a statement, Lau said she considered serving the people of Hong Kong and fighting for their freedom and democracy as her “lifelong duties” ever since she decided to run for an ultimately successful campaign as a district councilor in Hong Kong in 2019.
“As a member of the diaspora and as a Hong Konger, I have pledged to put our collective crusade for Hong Kong’s future before anything else—even myself,” Lau said. “I am not about to back down now just because of an arrest warrant and a bounty.”
Lau urged the British government to “reassess its strategy for combating Beijing-directed transnational repression that targets Hong Kongers” and join allies in imposing targeted, Magnitsky-style sanctions on “Hong Kong human-rights offenders” immediately. She did not name any individuals.
On Instagram, Cheung wrote: “Fear cannot restrain me, and suppression cannot silence me. With this wanted warrant, I will only become braver and stronger.”
The two other activists are Joseph Tay, 62, co-founder of Canada-based NGO HongKonger Station, and Victor Ho, a 69-year-old YouTuber.
Passports
Separately, also on Tuesday, Tang exercised the powers via the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, also known as Article 23, and canceled the passports belonging to seven “absconders,” for whom bounties had already been issued.
The seven included former lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok. The others were Anna Kwok, Elmer Yuen, Kevin Yam, Frances Hui, and Joey Siu.
Yam and Ted Hui are currently in Australia, while the others are in the United States.
“The cancellation of my passport is a clear attempt by the government to prevent me from engaging in international advocacy, silencing my efforts to raise awareness about the ongoing repression in Hong Kong,” Kwok, current executive director of HKDC, said in a statement.
“It sends a chilling message to those still in Hong Kong—no one is exempt from the escalating repression that threatens anyone who dares to challenge the regime.
“We must resist the fear the government attempts to instill in our lives.”
Siu, former policy adviser at the UK-based Hong Kong Watch, said the impact on her would be minimal since she holds a U.S. passport, according to her post on social media platform X.
“As an American who is continuously targeted by Hong Kong authorities, first under the National Security Law, then ongoing transnational repression, and now with Article 23, I believe that the federal government’s response has been insufficient,” Siu said.
Siu called on President Joe Biden to expand and extend the current Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Hong Kong Citizens program for four more years before leaving office and urged President-elect Donald Trump to keep the program.
Biden first authorized the program in August 2021 and extended it for two years in January 2023. The program, which protects Hong Kong residents in the United States from deportation, will expire on Feb. 5, 2025.
Frances Hui, policy and advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “took advantage of a world-celebrated holiday to further down repression of dissidents,” according to an X post.
“I call on the [international] community to once again hold CCP accountable for its intensifying repression,” she said.
The Hong Kong government made a similar move in June, revoking the passports of six UK-based activists, including Nathan Law.
International Criticism
Hong Kong’s decision to revoke seven activists’ passports brought reproval from democratic countries.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of hundreds of lawmakers from around the world, condemned “the continuing political persecution of these peaceful pro-democracy figures,” according to an X post.
“The continued failure of the international community to hold China accountable for the dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms exacerbates transnational repression,” IPAC said.
Gregory May, U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, took to X to denounce Hong Kong’s decisions.
“We call on the Hong Kong government to stop using its national security laws to silence dissent,” May wrote.
Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European External Action Service, said Hong Kong has hurt its reputation as an international business hub, according to a statement on X.
“The EU calls on China to respect its international commitments and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle,” Anouni said.
“The EU urges the Hong Kong authorities to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy forces and to uphold fundamental freedoms as enshrined in Hong Kong’s Basic Law.”
Megan Khoo, policy director of Hong Kong Watch, said the Hong Kong government’s actions “are clear attempts of transnational repression,” according to a statement.
“We call on the U.S., UK, Canadian, and Australian governments to urgently respond by imposing targeted sanctions on the Hong Kong officials responsible and by strengthening measures to counter such extraterritorial intimidation,” Khoo said.
Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.