Authorities in Hong Kong have issued bounties of HK$1m (£102,700) for information leading to the arrest of several UK-based pro-democracy activists.
Hong Kong has seen a sweeping crackdown on political dissent after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020, following large scale pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The group are accused of committing national security offences including inciting the secession of Hong Kong from China and colluding with foreign forces, according to the Hong Kong Free Press and charity Hong Kong Watch.
The arrests warrant come as Keir Starmer is seeking better relations with China in order to boost the economy. Tory China hawk Iain Duncan Smith accused the government of “turning a blind eye” to appalling abuse”.
Among those accused are 19-year-old Chloe Chueng, a communications and media assistant for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation in London.
Ms Chueng, who arrived in the UK in 2020, said she was “shocked” to see the warrant but that she would not be deterred.
“I never thought me, as a 19-year-old, would get an arrest warrant. The work that I do, it’s not anything really special and I have never committed a crime,” she told The i Paper.
“I just did whatever I think is correct, which is fight for freedom and democracy. When the government gave me the warrant, I feel like I actually did the right thing, because it means that they are now scared and afraid of me advocating for Hong Kong. So this bounty gave me some more confidence in what I am doing.”
“I won’t do anything differently,” she added. “I will not be scared. I will not be afraid.”
Also included in the warrants is 23-year-old Tony Chung, who fled to the UK last December after serving nearly four years in prison for a national security offence. Mr Chung worked with the now-defunct pro-independence group Studentlocalism.
Carmen Lau, a 29-year-old former district councillor now working for the Hong Kong Democracy Council in London, has also been targeted, along with Chung Kim-wah, 64, a former pollster at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute now living in the UK.
An former actor, 62-year-old Joseph Tay, who founded an organisation providing “uncensored information” about Hong Kong, and YouTuber Victor Ho, 69, have also been issued warrants. Both are living in Canada.
Deputy police commissioner for national security, Andrew Kan, said their bank accounts would be frozen.
The new round of arrests warrant will increase pressure on the Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his bid to thaw relations with China.
Starmer met Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio in November, the first meeting between a UK PM and Xi in more than six years.
The Prime Minister has pledged to continue to be critical of China, but is intent on better economic co-operation with the superpower in order to boost the UK economy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to visit China next month with Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey in a bid to boost financial services trade ties.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith told The i Paper: “As Keir Starmer kowtows to China begging it for more trade China laughs and spits in his face as it puts more bounties of up to a HK$1 million on peaceful Hong Kong activists in the UK who are critical of China.
“How shameful that the Labour government says nothing and turns a blind eye to such appalling abuse.”
“Our approach is one of engagement,” he said, “of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly for example on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should, particularly on issues like human rights, and to compete when it comes to trade.”
A brief history of Hong Kong control
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, with a population of 7.5m people.
One of the world’s major trade and financial centres, Hong Kong was controlled by the UK until it handed power back to China in 1997.
At this point, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region took effect. This law outlined a “one country, two systems,” under which Hong Kong was allowed to maintain a capitalist economy and much of its political autonomy for 50 years.
However, China has sought to expand its control of Hong Kong in recent years, cracking down on political dissent and democratic freedoms and stoking mass protests.
Dozens of pro-democracy activists, lawmakers, and journalists have been jailed while many have fled, while voting rights and press freedoms have been curtailed.
After Beijing imposed the 2020 national security law, which gave it broad powers to silence critics, the UK set up the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme to allow people from Hong Kong to live and work in the UK.
BNO citizenship is a type of British nationality created in 1985, for which people in Hong Kong could apply before the 1997 handover to China, in order to retain their relationship with the UK.
More than 150,000 people have come to the UK under the scheme since it was set up in 2021.
The arrest warrants have been widely condemned by human rights organisations.
Lord Patten of Barnes, the last Governor of Hong Kong and patron of Hong Kong Watch, said the arrest warrants were part of a “relentless pursuit of pro-democracy activists beyond its borders” and a “blatant overreach that disregards international norms”.
“Both the National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance hold no legitimate authority outside Hong Kong and should not leak into democracies considered safe haven for hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers,” he said.
“The UK, US, Canadian and Australian governments must act decisively and in concert to shield these activists from transnational repression, ensuring their safety and standing firm against Beijing’s attempts to undermine the very democratic values we hold dear.”
Human Rights Watch called the bounties “a cowardly act of intimidation”.
“We call on the UK and Canadian governments to act immediately to push back against the Hong Kong government’s attempts to threaten Hong Kongers living in their countries,” said associate China director Maya Wang.
Megan Khoo, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, said the warrants were “clear attempts of transnational repression, designed to silence dissent and extend the reach of authoritarian control beyond Hong Kong’s borders”.
“We must not allow them to succeed,” she added, calling for the UK Government to impose sanctions on the Hong Kong officials responsible.
“It is imperative that collective action is taken to protect the rights and freedoms of Hong Kongers in exile, who continue to be politically persecuted by the Hong Kong authorities for activities that are peaceful and acceptable under international law.”
China’s foreign ministry said it supported the move, which it described as “performing its duties in accordance with the law”.
This is the third round of arrest warrants and bounties issued since the national security law was imposed.
Seven activists who were served warrants in 2023, living in Australia and the US, also had their passports cancelled on Christmas Eve.
The announcement brings the total number of exiled Hong Kongers with arrest warrants and bounties to 19, Hong Kong Watch said.
More than 150,000 people have come to the UK from Hong Kong under a scheme which allowed those with British Nationality to relocate with their families to the UK.
Several activists living in the UK say they have been subjected to monitoring, trolling and disinformation.
Earlier this month, two men including a Border Force officer pleaded not guilty to spying in the UK on behalf of the Hong Kong intelligence service.
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
