Hong Kong authorities have intensified their crackdown on 16 overseas activists accused of endangering national security by banning their financial support and cancelling most of their passports.
The activists were among 19 people who were targeted with arrest warrants in July for alleged roles in Hong Kong Parliament, a group called a subversive organisation abroad by police.
The measures, announced on Monday, were implemented under the authority of Hong Kong’s locally enacted national security law introduced last year.
Three of the original 19 activists were already targeted by similar measures last year. Travel documents were cancelled for 12 of the 16 who hold Hong Kong passports.
Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang banned providing funds or economic resources to the 16 activists, who include journalist Victor Ho, activist Keung Ka-wai, Australian academic Chongyi Feng and US citizen Gong Sasha, according to a government statement.
The government also banned leasing property to those on the list or entering into joint ventures with them. Violating these restrictions could result in up to seven years in prison.
The 16 activists are hiding in the UK, US, Canada and Germany, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan, among other regions, the goverment said. It accused them of continuing to engage in activities endangering national security.
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The notice also accused them of intending to incite hatred against Beijing and Hong Kong through smear and slander.
“We therefore have taken such measures to make a significant impact,” the government statement said.
In 2020, Beijing enacted a national security law in Hong Kong that largely eliminated public dissent after the massive anti-government protests of 2019. Numerous activists were arrested, silenced, or driven into self-exile. The governments of Beijing and Hong Kong have said the security laws are essential to maintaining stability in the city.
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Foreign governments, including the US, UK, and European Union, have criticised the arrest warrants issued in July, which offer rewards ranging from 200,000 Hong Kong dollars (about £19,000) to 1 million Hong Kong dollars (around £95,000) for information leading to the activists’ arrests.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the moves, saying in July that the “extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression”.
The UK’s Foreign and Home Secretaries also condemned the move in a joint statement, saying it “will not tolerate attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas.”
The Hong Kong office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to criticism from foreign politicians, insisting the actions were lawful and justified.
