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Tony Chung, who fled Hong Kong last year and is currently in the UK, is among those wanted by police.
Hong Kong police have offered rewards of one million Hong Kong dollars (£103,000; $129,000) for information leading to the arrest of six pro-democracy activists living in the UK and Canada .
Among them is Tony Chung, the former leader of a pro-independence group who fled to the United Kingdom last year.
The group – which includes a former district councilor, an actor and a YouTuber – is pushing for more democracy in the territory. All were accused of violating the city's national security law.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticized the move, calling on Hong Kong authorities to “end the targeting of individuals in the UK and elsewhere who stand up for freedom and democracy”.
“We will not tolerate any attempt by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom,” he said, adding that the British government was committed to supporting those from Hong Kong who moved to the UK. .
Former district councilor Carmen Lau and activist Chloe Cheung are also on the wanted list. Both are based in the UK and lobby on behalf of two NGOs calling for more democracy in Hong Kong.
Arrest warrants have also been issued for political commentator and pollster Chung Kim-wah, who left Hong Kong for the United Kingdom in 2022, as well as two individuals based in Canada: former actor Joseph Tay, co-founder from the NGO HongKonger Station, and the YouTuber. Victor Ho.
Mr. Ho was charged with subversion while the other six were charged with inciting secession and collusion with a foreign country or external forces.
According to Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK, the arrest warrants were announced Tuesday by the city's top police chiefs, who accused some of the wanted activists of repeatedly asking foreign countries to impose sanctions and other measures against China and Hong Kong.
Mr Chung was first convicted in 2021 for calling for Hong Kong to secede and was released in June last year.
He posted on Instagram on Tuesday that it was “an honor to become the first Hong Konger to be charged twice under the national security law.”
Mr Chung said the news did not surprise him, as he had breached a supervision order after his release from prison by fleeing to the UK last year.
“I knew this day would come. From the moment I decided to leave Hong Kong, I was fully aware that I would not be able to return for a long time,” he wrote.
Mr Chung confirmed to the BBC that he was still waiting for his asylum application to be approved by the British government.
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Carmen Lau is also based in the UK and calls for more democracy in Hong Kong.
Ms. Lau posted on X that the mandate would not stop her advocacy work. She called on the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union to impose sanctions on “perpetrators of human rights violations in Hong Kong.”
She also called on the British Labor government to “seriously reconsider its strategies to combat transnational repression targeting Hong Kongers” and consider blocking plans for a new Chinese embassy at Tower Hill.
Earlier this month, Tower Hamlets councilors voted unanimously to reject the plans. However, the verdict is only advisory and not binding and it will be up to Deputy Prime Minister and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner to decide whether or not to grant permission.
This is the third round of arrest warrants and bounties issued since the imposition of Beijing's national security law.
The first two bullets were issued in July and December last year and targeted former lawmaker Nathan Law – who told the BBC last year that his life had become more dangerous since the bounty was announced – and Simon Cheng, a former British consulate employee detained in London. 2019 in a high-profile case. Both men are now based in the United Kingdom.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning supported the move Tuesday, saying the Chinese government supports Hong Kong “in carrying out its duties in accordance with law.”
She added that Hong Kong was “a society governed by the rule of law and no one enjoys extrajudicial privileges.”
Hong Kong's controversial national security law was imposed in 2020 in response to 2019 anti-government protests that rocked the city for months.
Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong argue that the law is necessary to maintain stability and deny that it has weakened autonomy, but critics argue that it has reduced the city's autonomy and made illegal more number of acts of dissent.