The UK Government is under fresh pressure to ban British judges from sitting on Hong Kong courts after threats against dissidents from the country who are now living in the UK.
Eight prominent Hong Kong democracy activists, three of whom are in the UK, are now subject to a HK$1m (£100,000) bounty to be paid to anyone who helps the authorities arrest them.
Two warned they did not feel safe in Britain and accused the Government of failing to protect them against Beijing’s agents.
Finn Lau, a 29-year-old political campaigner, said during an event in Parliament: “After this explicit $1m bounty, the risk of abduction and physical harassment simply escalated.”
He added: “There is some kind of knowledge gap between the Foreign Office and the Home Office, because three years ago the Foreign Office was swift to suspend treaties between the Hong Kong government and the UK, but now I haven’t seen any kind of proactive measures imposed by the Home Office regarding the safety and security of UK residents.”
Trade unionist Christopher Mung added: “To be honest, I don’t feel really safe to be in the UK because of the threats coming from some pro-Chinese Communist Party people.” He said he had been followed by unknown people after public events and claimed he had not been “proactively contacted” by British police about his safety.
Mr Lau requested a meeting with James Cleverly and Suella Braverman, the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, to discuss the situation and called for anyone who tries to claim the Hong Kong bounty while in the UK to be tried on British soil.
He also said that serving and retired British judges should refuse to continue sitting on Hong Kong’s courts, a practice which has continued since the territory was returned to Chinese control in 1997. Any judges who do not withdraw should be barred from legal practice in the UK, Mr Lau suggested.
The call was backed by Conservative MP Bob Seely, who said the West had done “too little too late” to challenge Beijing’s bullying and risked repeating the mistake it made in dealing with Russia.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong has asked the Home Office to work with Interpol to ensure that Hong Kong dissidents are not hit with a red notice which could compel foreign governments to arrest them and send them to China to stand trial.
Crossbench peer David Alton said: “The actions by the Hong Kong authorities are fresh and clear indicators showing not only they want to stifle all opposition in Hong Kong, they are also attempting to spread fear abroad and to intimidate Hongkongers overseas.
“The UK Government must do more to protect the safety of activists who are living in the UK and to work with its partners to ensure China’s extraterritorial attempts to silence activists will not succeed. The UK has a responsibility to Hong Kong and it is vital to defend democracy against the corrosion from the Chinese authoritarian regime.”
The Foreign Office said: “The UK judges that remain in the Court of Final Appeal are retired from UK judicial service. It is for them to make their own personal decisions on their continued service in Hong Kong.” Mr Cleverly said earlier this week: “The decision to issue arrest warrants for eight activists, some of whom are in the UK, is a further example of the authoritarian reach of China’s extraterritorial law.”
