Beijing urges British politicians to refrain from interfering in the country’s politics
July 4 () –
The Chinese Embassy in London has accused Britain of harboring Hong Kong fugitives, after British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly condemned a decision by Hong Kong police to announce rewards for detaining activists in exile.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy explained that “British politicians have openly harbored wanted criminals”: “This is serious interference with the rule of law in Hong Kong and China’s internal affairs,” he denounced.
In this sense, the spokesman has urged British politicians to stop interfering in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong, and to “stop using these anti-China disruptors to endanger the sovereignty and security” of Peking.
According to the Embassy, the arrest and punishment of the activists under the National Security Law “is not only constitutional and legal, but also in line with public opinion.”
“It is a fair move to maintain the rule of law in Hong Kong and an inevitable step to safeguard national sovereignty and security,” reads a statement in which they explain that “a small group” fled abroad, where “it continued to incite secession” and caused great public outrage.
The Hong Kong Police announced on Monday the decision to offer rewards of one million Hong Kong dollars (about 117,000 euros) for information that allows the arrest of eight activists accused of violating the national security law, issued from Beijing and questioned by defenders of Human rights.
The Hong Kong authorities have wanted to relaunch the case against several prominent activists, who are in Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. They included former MPs Nathan Law, Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer Kevin Yam and trade unionist Mung Siu Tat. The list given this Monday by the Police Chief, Steve Li, is completed with the names of Finn Lau, Anna Kwok and Elmer Yuan.
The head of the Hong Kong government, John Lee, has invited “anyone” on Tuesday to help the Police in the arrest of the activists, maintaining that the authorities “will persecute the activists for the rest of their lives”, even if they That means going “to the ends of the earth”: “They will live in fear,” he declared at a press conference.
“Anyone who facilitates the arrest of these wanted persons will be treated confidentially. Those who provide information may receive a reward depending on the actual situation. Relatives and friends of the wanted are also enabled, we invite them to provide information about the wanted,” he said.
The UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, has denounced that “the decision to issue arrest warrants against eight activists, some of whom are in the UK, is yet another example of the authoritarian reach of Chinese extraterritorial law.”
Cleverly has also taken the opportunity to “vigorously oppose the Chinese National Security Law, which suppresses the freedoms of Hong Kong”, in the same line as the US government has pronounced.
The spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, has stated that “the extraterritorial application of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing is a dangerous precedent that threatens the Human Rights and fundamental freedoms of people around the world.”
“We ask the Hong Kong government to immediately withdraw this reward, respect the sovereignty of other countries and end the international application of the National Security Law,” the spokesperson requested.
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also denounced the measure by the Hong Kong authorities, which they have described as a “political intimidation campaign” by China. “The Hong Kong government is going further and further to persecute peaceful dissent both inside and outside Hong Kong. Offering a cross-border reward is a weak attempt to intimidate activists,” said the NGO’s associate director for Asia. , Maya Wang.
The Chinese government imposed the national security law in 2020, as a result of the opposition protests that put the regime of the former British colony in check the previous year. Since the entry into force of this rule, at least 260 people have been arrested, two thirds of whom have been charged.
