Washington requests the withdrawal of the reward and warns of the extraterritorial application of the security law
July 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States Government has condemned this Monday the decision of the Hong Kong Police 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 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.
Likewise, he has indicated that Washington, which supports the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, will continue to oppose “the transnational repression efforts” of the Chinese authorities, “which undermine Human Rights.”
The Hong Kong authorities have wanted to relaunch the case against several prominent activists, including 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.
In any case, these are people who live outside Hong Kong, specifically in Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, although Li has denounced that they have continued to carry out activities abroad that put national security at risk. “We are not making any threats. We are complying with the law,” she defended.
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.
