Hong Kong on Wednesday (12) revoked the passports of six pro-democracy activists living abroad under the new national security law. They were also labeled as “wanted criminals,” according to the agency. Al Jazeera.
In addition to revoking their passports, the Hong Kong government announced that the six “fugitives” were barred from carrying out any business transactions in the semi-autonomous territory, from financial activities to gold transactions.
In a press release, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said activists exiled in the United Kingdom, even from afar, continue to threaten national security and defame Chinese territory.
“They also make cautious statements to slander and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Also, they are constantly conspiring with outside forces to cover up their actions. So, we have taken these measures to deal a heavy blow to them,” he said.
Six people, including student leader and former lawmaker Nathan Law and British consulate employee Simon Cheng, who were detained in China for 15 days in August 2019, are wanted by the police. Others include activist Finn Lau, labor rights defender Christopher Mung, and Fogg. Ka-chi and Choi Ming-ta. They were all part of a group of 13 overseas Hong Kong citizens who received arrest warrants for violating national security in July and December last year, and were each rewarded with a million Hong Kong dollars (R$633,000).
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The government also warned Hong Kong residents that providing financial support or doing business with the six activists could be considered a crime and punishable by up to seven years in prison.
in your account XOld Twitter, Lau called the move “a blatant act of national repression.” However, he said this will not deter him from his campaign. “The act of repression will not stop me from defending human rights and democracy,” he wrote. “Hong Kongers have a fighting spirit, including mine.”
for that FacebookLaw said he has not held a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport since he was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in 2021, deeming the Hong Kong government’s decision “unnecessary”.
Why is this important?
After the transfer from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong began to operate under a separate autonomous system from the rest of China. However, despite the initial promise that individual liberties would be respected, subjugation to Beijing has always been too strong, leading to mass protests for freedom and democracy in 2019.
Beijing’s response to the protests came with authoritarianism, represented by the National Security Act, which gave the Hong Kong government the power to silence dissent and jail critics. Legal provisions criminalize any attempt to “interfere” in local affairs as “insurgency, secession, terrorism and collusion”. Serious crimes can lead to life imprisonment.
At the end of July 2021, one year after the law came into effect, the first judgment in a legal action based on the new regulations was announced. Dong Ying-kit, a 24-year-old worker, was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of inciting terrorism and separatism.
The incident leading to the conviction took place on July 1, 2020, the first day the law came into force. Dong was riding a motorcycle with a black flag that read “Free Hong Kong”. Revolution of our time”, a slogan used by anti-government activists in 2019 protests.
Critics of local government say that rights of expression and association have been increasingly diminished, with the law increasingly repressing dissent. Hong Kong officials reinforce the view that legal regulations are necessary to protect the territory’s stability.
The UK says it is in breach of an agreement made when it handed over territory to China. Because there was a promise that individual liberties, including democratic elections, would be protected for at least 50 years. Half time had passed and Beijing was not up to its end of the bargain. Quite the opposite.
In recent years, calls for democracy have been muted, freedom of expression has ended, and this is expected to continue “for a long time”. In the words of President Xi Jinping, “any interference must be removed.”
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