An Australian citizen is among eight overseas-based activists who have been accused by Hong Kong police of national security offences, including foreign collusion and incitement to secession.
Key points:
- Melbourne lawyer Kevin Yam is one of the eight activists to have been charged under Hong Kong’s national security law
- Police accuse him of collusion, alleging he advocated for sanctions against Hong Kong officials
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia is “deeply concerned” about the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s human rights
The accused are pro-democracy activists Nathan Law, Anna Kwok, Finn Lau, former lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Ted Hui, lawyer and legal scholar Kevin Yam, unionist Mung Siu-tat, and online commentator Yuan Gong-yi, police told a press conference on Monday.
Issuing wanted notices and rewards of HK$1 million ($191,824) each, police said the assets of the accused would be frozen where possible and they warned the public not to support them financially or face the risk of violating the law.
“They have encouraged sanctions … to destroy Hong Kong and to intimidate officials,” Steve Li, an officer with the police’s national security department, said.
The activists are based in various countries, including Australia, Britain and the United States.
Melbourne lawyer Kevin Yam said he only found out he was “wanted” via the public announcement.
He is charged with collusion, with policing alleging he advocated for sanctions against officials of the Hong Kong government, as well as members of the judiciary and prosecutors.
“My main feeling is a sadness for Hong Kong because what happened since this press conference is a deluge — of private messages and on social media — of support and congratulating me,” Mr Yam told the ABC.
“I derive zero happiness, it’s a reflection of how far down Hong Kong has gone.”
Mr Yam, who is an Australian citizen, said in practice the warrant did not change much, as he could not have returned to Hong Kong anyway.
“We’ll take it one day at a time — Australia has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong,” he said.
“I’m quite interested to see what the Australian government thinks of all this.
“[This charge is for my] appearance for US congress back in May [via zoom] – I was in Australia at the time – so here I was an Australian citizen speaking out about a city that gave me everything in terms of career and so on that I really love, and for doing this out of Australia, they’re now putting an arrest warrant out on me, what does this say?”
Mr Yam said he would continue to criticise what he described as “tyranny”.
“It’s my duty … to continue to speak out against the crackdown that is going on right now, against the tyranny that is now reigning over the city that was once one of the freest in Asia,” he said.
Arrests cannot be made overseas
The eight activists have been charged under a national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, after the financial hub was rocked by protracted anti-China protests the previous year.
Some countries, including the United States, say the law has been used to suppress the city’s pro-democracy movement and it has undermined rights and freedoms guaranteed under a “one country, two systems” formula, agreed when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the law has restored the stability necessary for preserving Hong Kong’s economic success.
At Monday’s press conference, police said 260 people had been arrested under the national security law, with 79 of them convicted of offences including subversion and terrorism.
Chief Superintendent Li said police were merely enforcing the law.
“We are definitely not putting on a political show nor disseminating fear,” he said.
“If they don’t return, we won’t be able to arrest them – that’s a fact. But we won’t stop wanting them.”
Sophie Richardson, China Director at Human Rights Watch, said these charges should be rejected.
“These arrest warrants are not an indictment of these activists, but of Hong Kong’s once well-regarded law enforcement and judiciary,” she said.
“Democracies should not only flatly reject the warrants, which authorities want upheld internationally, but they should also increase protections to those threatened by Beijing, consider imposing new sanctions, and face the reality that no mainland or Hong Kong authority will respect international legal obligations.”
The ABC has contacted Australia’s Foreign Minister for comment.
ABC/Reuters