(USNewsBreak.com) – China has cracked down hard on dissidents to maintain what many critics consider to be authoritarian rule. Most recently, Hong Kong police have been seeking to jail several overseas activists, including one American citizen.
Hong Kong announced it was offering one million Hong Kong dollars, roughly $128,000, for information leading to the arrests of five activists living overseas. Authorities issued warrants for them for allegedly violating national security laws. Human rights groups and foreign governments have condemned the move.
Hong Kong puts bounties on pro-democracy activists, including American citizen, under China-imposed law https://t.co/Z3aEGn1W6o
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 15, 2023
The US Department of State denounced the announcement, and Secretary Antony Blinken posted a statement that the US “reject[s] this attempt to threaten and harass” people who advocate for better.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said the country rejected all criticism of the move, calling it “necessary and justified” because it falls “in line with international law and practice,” per The Associated Press. Hong Kong is accusing the five activists of “endanger[ing] national security by destabilizing Hong Kong under the guise of democracy and human rights.”
The American citizen whom Chinese authorities are seeking is Joey Siu. She posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Hong Kong authorities sought her after she simply exercised her freedoms. Siu was born in North Carolina in the US but moved to Hong Kong as a child. Others China is seeking include Tony Choi and Johnny Fok, who both run a YouTube channel and Simon Cheng and Hiu Wing-ting, who, like Siu, are pro-democracy activists.
This incident isn’t the first time China has sought to bring foreign individuals to justice. In July, it singled out eight activists who live in the US, Britain, Australia, and Canada, saying it would pursue them for life.
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