Hong Kong arrests four accused of aiding overseas activists

Authorities earlier this week announced bounties for dissidents in the US, Britain and Australia.

John Lee rejected criticism of the bounties, calling on the activists to surrender themselves and saying the eight would be ‘pursued for life’. Picture: AFP

The Hong Kong police have arrested four men accused of violating the city’s national security law as authorities intensify an effort to clamp down on dissent, including targeting activists abroad.

The four men, aged 26 to 28, were accused of raising money “to support people who have fled overseas and continue to engage in activities that endanger national security”, the police said.

The four weren’t immediately identified by the authorities but local media outlets showed the police taking away Ivan Lam, the former head of Demosisto, a now-defunct opposition party.

Hong Kong authorities announced on Monday that they would offer rewards of $HK1m ($192,155), for information on eight activists who are overseas. The eight were accused of violating the security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 and implemented by the local authorities to suppress pro-democracy protests. The law includes extraterritorial provisions stating it also applies to people outside the city.

The eight overseas dissidents are Australian lawyer Kevin Yam; Dennis Kwok, a lawyer and former Hong Kong legislator; Elmer Yuen, a prominent online commentator; Anna Kwok, the executive director of the US-based Hong Kong Democracy Council; former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui; former union official Mung Siu-tat; and activists Finn Lau and Nathan Law. They are based in the US, Britain or Australia, which have suspended extradition agreements with Hong Kong over concerns about Beijing’s growing sway over the former British colony, which returned to Chinese control in 1997.

Those countries all criticised the Hong Kong government’s efforts against overseas activists.

The extraterritorial application of the security law “is a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

British Foregin Secretary James Cleverly called the arrest warrants “a further example of the authoritarian reach of China’s extraterritorial law”, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said they were “unacceptable”.

Hong Kong chief executive John Lee rejected criticism of the bounties, calling on the activists to surrender themselves and saying the eight would be “pursued for life”. “The only way to end their destiny of being an abscondee who will be pursued for life is to surrender”, Mr Lee said, adding they would otherwise “spend their days in fear”.

The police said the four arrested on Wednesday in Hong Kong were accused of using social media platforms and mobile apps to raise money for activists abroad. They were also accused of making online calls for Hong Kong’s independence, an activity banned under the security law, and posting messages that “provoked hatred” toward the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities.

One of the eight wanted overseas, Nathan Law, preceded Mr Lam as head of Demosisto. Mr Law declined to discuss those arrested on Wednesday, but said the government’s moves showed its intent to silence dissent both in Hong Kong and abroad.

“They are different continents, different ages, different focuses,” he said of the eight targeted by bounties. “Some are more moderate, some are more progressive, more aggressive. It’s a really broad spectrum. It signals a clear, all-round crackdown.”

Mr Law, who fled to London in 2020, said he had been told for years that he was wanted in Hong Kong, but only learned the details this week. “I don’t think anyone in Hong Kong’s history has ever warranted a bounty for political crimes,” he said.

“This is new to all of us.”

The Wall Street Journal