Hong Kong police announce bounties on overseas pro-democracy activists 

Hong Kong authorities have placed bounties on six pro-democracy activists accused of harming national security in the latest crackdown to highlight the narrowing space for dissent in the financial hub.

The announcement by police on Tuesday is the third time authorities have offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($130,000) for information leading to the arrest of pro-democracy advocates based overseas.

The Chinese territory’s wanted list now includes 19 campaigners accused of loosely-defined offences of secession, subversion or collusion.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the activists had endangered national security through activities such as lobbying for sanctions against Hong Kong officials and judges.

The newly added activists include Tony Chung, the former head of the pro-Hong Kong independence group Studentlocalism, Joseph Tay, founder of Canada-based advocacy organisation Hongkonger Station, and Carmen Lau of the Hong Kong Democracy Council.

The others are Chung Kim-wah, a former pollster at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, Victor Ho, a Canada-based YouTuber, and Chloe Cheung of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong.

“Since I fled, I have often regretted not being able to serve my people until the end,” Lau said in a post on X.

“Therefore, as a member of the diaspora and as a Hong Konger, I swear to put our fight for Hong Kong before anything else, even before myself.”

Authorities also said they had cancelled the passports of seven activists previously added to the wanted list, including former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui.

Once home to a vigorous political opposition and one of the freest media environments in Asia, Hong Kong has criminalised practically all dissent under tough security laws introduced in response to mass antigovernment protests in 2019.

Western governments and human rights groups have condemned the crackdown in the former British colony, while mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials have defended the laws as necessary to restore stability after 2019’s often violent demonstrations.

None of the 19 on the wanted list are likely to be extradited to Hong Kong as they live in Western countries that have expressed concern about diminishing rights and freedoms in the city.

Kevin Yam, an Australia-based lawyer who was added to the wanted list last July after being accused of colluding with a foreign power, said the latest bounties would undermine the city’s efforts to revive its international reputation, which was battered by the crackdowns and some of the world’s toughest border controls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I would say is that every time Hong Kong tries to relaunch itself, its government does something repressive to undermine all that,” Yam told Al Jazeera.

“And they are childish enough to think that in a 24-hour news cycle era, dumping ‘bad news’ on Christmas Eve can make things look less bad for them.”