US slams Hong Kong’s bounty offers targeting overseas activists
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Hong Kong bounties were a form of "transnational repression".
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Hong Kong's rewards for information leading to the arrest of overseas activists.
- Hong Kong police offered rewards for activists involved in the "subversive" Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy NGO.
- Rubio stated this erodes Hong Kong's autonomy promised after the 1997 handover and targets fundamental freedoms.
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WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 26 condemned Hong Kong’s offer of rewards for any information leading to the arrest of a select list of overseas activists, including some based in the United States.
“The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression,” Mr Rubio said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate the Hong Kong government’s attempts to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate Americans or anyone on US soil.”
Hong Kong police on July 25 announced bounties for information
Police said the activists were involved in what they called the “subversive” Hong Kong Parliament – a pro-democracy non-governmental organisation established in Canada.
A reward of HK$200,000 (S$32,600) each was offered for 15 of the activists, while the four others were already wanted for HK$1 million, the statement said.
“With this new round of arrest warrants and bounties, the Hong Kong government continues to erode the autonomy that Beijing itself promised to the people of Hong Kong following the 1997 handover,” Mr Rubio said.
“Freedom of speech and political discourse are core American values, which the Trump administration will continue to defend.” AFP
