Hong Kong cancels passports of 6 ‘lawless’ democracy activists

Hong Kong - The Hong Kong government said on June 12 it had cancelled the passports of six democracy activists who fled to the United Kingdom, calling them “lawless wanted criminals”.

Since the authorities quashed massive, at times violent,

pro-democracy protests in 2019

, Hong Kong has intensified a crackdown on dissent, enacting security laws that critics like Britain and the United States say have curbed the city’s unique freedoms.

Hong Kong in 2023 issued HK$1 million (S$173,000) bounties for 13 activists based abroad whom the authorities accused of committing national security crimes.

The six named – all on the bounty list – are considered “lawless wanted criminals... hiding in the United Kingdom”, a government spokesperson said in a statement.

“They continue to blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security. They also make scaremongering remarks to smear and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” the spokesperson said.

Besides cancelling their Hong Kong passports, police said anyone offering funds, leasing property or running a business with those named could face up to seven years in jail.

The six are former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, veteran unionist Christopher Mung Siu Tat, and activists Finn Lau, Fok Ka Chi, Choi Ming Da and Simon Cheng, the founder of civil society group Hongkongers in Britain.

Hong Kong officials cited a

national security law passed in March

– colloquially known as Article 23 – as the legal basis for cancelling their passports.

Security chief Chris Tang defended the new measures as “necessary”, saying the six were “harboured in the UK and continue to collude with foreign forces”.

Asked if people would violate the law by subscribing to the activists’ content on online platforms such as Patreon and YouTube, Mr Tang said “it is an offence to provide funds or to handle funds for those specified absconders, no matter what platform it is”.

Condemning the government on June 12, Lau said he has only ever held a British National Overseas passport, which is available to Hong Kongers born in the former British colony before the 1997 handover back to China.

“It is ridiculous to cancel (a Hong Kong passport) that never exists,” he said on X, adding that it “does not deter me from advocating human rights and democracy”.

Fellow activist Mung said on Facebook: “You can cancel my passport, but you can never revoke my identity as a Hongkonger”.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian blasted the six, saying their “nasty behaviour seriously endangered national security, seriously damaged the fundamental interests of Hong Kong, and seriously attacked the bottom line of ‘one country, two systems’.”

Bounties issued

The move came on the fifth anniversary of a violent clash between protesters and police that marked a major escalation in the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests of 2019.

Under the Sino-British agreement for the handover, Hong Kong enjoyed more freedoms and rights than its mainland counterparts, and once had a robust opposition bloc that advocated more democratic processes.

After quashing the protests, Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on Hong Kong in 2020 which critics say has broken down the legal firewall that once existed between the city and mainland China.

The law – which has seen nearly 300 arrested since its enactment – also claims the power to hold accused people accountable across the world.

Article 23, the home-grown security law passed in March, grants the Hong Kong authorities further enforcement powers, including the cancelling of passports.

The six people named on June 12 have been accused of national security crimes including incitement to secession, incitement to subversion and foreign collusion – offences that could land them in prison for life.

City leader John Lee – who has been

sanctioned by the US

for his role as security chief in 2019 – has said the wanted activists would be “pursued for life” and called on them to surrender.

Five others in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly providing financial support for the wanted activists. They were later released on bail.

Around 40 family members and former colleagues of Hong Kong’s bounty targets have been taken in for police questioning over the past year. AFP