Hong Kong cancels passports of six democracy activists

HONG KONG

In this picture taken on August 18, 2023, former Hong Kong legislator and pro-democracy activist Nathan Law poses for a photograph in London

The Hong Kong government said Wednesday it had cancelled the passports of six democracy activists who fled to the United Kingdom, calling them "lawless wanted criminals".

Since authorities quashed massive, at times violent, pro-democracy protests in 2019, Hong Kong has intensified a crackdown on dissent, enacting security laws that critics like Britain and the United States say have curbed the city's unique freedoms.

Last year Hong Kong issued HK$1 million ($128,000) bounties for 13 activists based abroad who authorities accused of committing national security crimes.

The six named Wednesday — all on the bounty list — are considered "lawless wanted criminals... hiding in the United Kingdom", a government spokesperson said in a statement.

"They continue to blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security. They also make scaremongering remarks to smear and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," the spokesperson said.

Besides cancelling their Hong Kong passports, police said anyone offering funds, leasing property or running a business with those named could face up to seven years in jail.

The six are former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, veteran unionist Christopher Mung Siu-tat, and activists Finn Lau, Fok Ka-chi, Choi Ming-da and Simon Cheng, the founder of the civil society group Hongkongers in Britain.

Hong Kong officials cited a national security law passed in March — colloquially known as Article 23 — as the legal basis for cancelling their passports.

Security chief Chris Tang defended the new measures as "necessary", saying the six were "harboured in the United Kingdom and continue to collude with foreign forces".

Asked if people would violate the law by subscribing to the activists' content on online platforms such as Patreon and YouTube, Tang said "it is an offense to provide funds or to handle funds for those specified absconders, no matter what platform it is".

Condemning the government Wednesday, Finn Lau said he has only ever held a British National Overseas passport, which is available to Hong Kongers born in the former British colony before the 1997 handover back to China.

"It is ridiculous to cancel (a Hong Kong passport) that never exists," he said on X.

"Such a deployment of Hong Kong Article 23 ordinance is an explicit act of transnational repression and another breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration," Lau said, adding that this "does not deter me from advocating human rights & democracy."

Nathan Law also said cancelling his passport was "superfluous" as he had been granted asylum in the United Kingdom since 2021.

Regarding the potential legal risks for anyone offering money or doing business with him, Law wrote on Facebook that if the government's measures "cause concern for friends in Hong Kong, please put your personal safety first".

  Bounties issued 

Wednesday's move came on the fifth anniversary of a violent clash between protesters and police that marked a major escalation in the pro-democracy protests of 2019 in Hong Kong.

In a statement released Wednesday to mark the anniversary, overseas Hong Kong groups urged governments to "advocate for the release of political prisoners, empower Hong Kongers by offering protection, and hold perpetrators accountable through sanctions".

A former British colony before the 1997 handover, the city enjoys more freedoms and rights than its mainland counterparts, and once had a robust opposition bloc that advocated for more democratic processes.

After quashing the protests, Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on Hong Kong in 2020 which critics say has broken down the legal firewall that once existed between the city and mainland China.

The law — which has seen nearly 300 arrested since its enactment — also claims the power to hold accused people accountable across the world.

Article 23, the homegrown security law passed in March, granted Hong Kong authorities further enforcement powers, including the cancelling of passports.

The six people named Wednesday have been accused of security crimes including incitement to secession, incitement to subversion and foreign collusion — offenses that could land them in prison for life.

City leader John Lee, who was sanctioned by the United States for his role as security chief in 2019, said last year the wanted activists would be "pursued for life" and called on them to surrender.

Five others in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly providing financial support for the wanted activists. They were later released on bail.

Around 40 family members and former colleagues of Hong Kong's bounty targets have been taken in for police questioning over the past year.