The city’s national security police have placed a new round of bounties on 15 overseas activists involved in a group called “Hong Kong Parliament”, which they called “subversive” and accused of violating the Beijing-imposed security law by holding an unlawful “election”.
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The HK$200,000 bounty slapped on each fugitive was supported by the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, which said the election “posed a serious threat to national sovereignty, security and developmental interests of the country”.
New arrest warrants were announced on Friday for Chan Lai-chun, Feng Chongyi, Sasha Gong, Ng Man-yan, and Tsang Wai-fan, who were accused of establishing the so-called parliament-in-exile in 2022.
That year, the group, mainly founded and run by self-exiled activists, formed an “electoral committee” in Canada to hold elections that it said “represents, solidifies and revives Hong Kong people’s rights of self-determination”.
The vote planned in 2022 was postponed to May this year. The group said 15,702 votes were cast to elect 15 members from 18 candidates for its first “parliament” and a “virtual swearing-in ceremony” was held on July 14. But five winners refused to be sworn in or announced their departure from the group after winning.
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Another 10 people were accused by Hong Kong national security police of taking part in the election and swearing in as so-called parliament members, namely Chin Po-fun, Ha Hoi-chun, Hau Chung-yu, Ho Wing-yau, Alan Keung Ka-wai, Tony Lam, Agnes Ng, Wong Chun-wah, Wong Sau-wo, and Zhang Xinyan.