Just How Far Will Beijing Go to Hunt Down Overseas Dissidents?

Photos of eight activists who have been issued arrest warrants over national security are displayed during a press conference in Hong Kong on July 3, 2023. Joyce Zhou/Reuters

Commentary

The revelation that Hong Kong police have placed a bounty on eight people, including two Australians, is further confirmation of the authoritarian intent of the Chinese regime since absorbing the former British colony into China.

The Hong Kong police announced a bounty of HK$1 million (US$127,627) for the arrest of eight people, including three former legislators.

The eight include Australian residents, Kevin Yam, a lawyer, and former Hong Kong MP, Ted Hui. Mr. Hui sought political asylum in Australia in 2021 and is applying for permanent residency.

Two other former MPs, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Kwok Wing-hang, unionist Mung Siu-tat, and activists Finn Lau Cho-dik, Anna Kwok Fung-yee, and Elmer Yuen Gong-yi are also on the list.

The bounties follow the issue of arrest warrants under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security law.

Introduced at the instruction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2020, the vague and sweeping laws claim extra-territoriality over Hong Kong citizens.

Ted Hui, the former Hong Kong councillor who is now in exile in Adelaide, flew to Sydney to attend the rally. Huang Jiachuan/The Epoch Times

Hong Kong Police Chief Superintendent Steven Li Kwai-wah said that his force “won’t stop chasing” the eight people.

Unsurprisingly, the Office of National Security of the government fully supported the police. According to a report in the CCP mouthpiece, Global Times, the office emphasised that “overseas regions are not lands beyond the law” [of Hong Kong].

“Anyone who violates the National Security Law for Hong Kong or commits relevant criminal acts anywhere must be prosecuted and punished by the law,” according to the office.

Mafia-Style Intimidation

Coupled with the discovery of Chinese “police stations” in many parts of the world and the work of the regime’s overseas United Work Front, the latest action represents a threat to critics of the communist regime everywhere.

Australian Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong was correct to rebuff the CCP’s bullying.

“We have strong laws in relation to foreign interference. Our position on this is unequivocal,” she said. “And any allegations about foreign interference will be investigated by the appropriate authorities.”

The stand by various Australian members of Parliament to oppose ratification of an extradition treaty with China has been vindicated by these revelations.

The fact that Australia will not extradite people to Hong Kong or China is of little comfort to the thousands of Australians living in Hong Kong.

Designed to intimidate members of the Chinese diaspora, the issue of bounties amounts to a direct challenge to the norms of international understanding.

The Chinese authorities have a record of kidnapping people from overseas locations and threatening people who have escaped the regime.

Hong Kong police have arrested some 260 people under the National Security law.

These and other laws have been used to prosecute supporters of democracy and human rights, including prominent Hong Kongers Cardinal Zen and Jimmy Lai.

Unsafe to Visit

The “one country, two systems” approach to Hong Kong has been abandoned by the CCP, despite official claims to the contrary.

Without a hint of irony, John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said at the ceremony marking the 26th anniversary of the handover of the region to China that after experiencing various challenges, Hong Kong has now fully resumed its normal life and moved towards a new stage of stability and prosperity.

Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee Ka Chiu on June 6, 2023. Bill Cox/The Epoch Times

“Under the double safeguards of the national security law in Hong Kong and the principle of ‘patriots administering Hong Kong,’ Hong Kong enjoys social stability and good economic development,” Mr. Lee said, adding that Hong Kong’s business environment is free and convenient, and its attractiveness is increasing.

Mr. Lee has a long background in the Hong Kong police, having led crackdowns against protests before being appointed the city’s CEO.

The issue of the warrants and bounties, the arrest of critics of the regime, and the practice of the CCP refusing to allow some people, including citizens of foreign nations, to depart the once-thriving city adds growing uncertainty to visitors.

No visitor to China is safe from the arbitrary rules of the regime, despite the continued optimism of barrackers in sections of the business community. Indeed, businesses should be re-examining the need to send executives to the region in these circumstances.

Australia should also follow the example of the U.S. and upgrade its travel warnings.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.