UK Catholic parliamentarians and other public figures have expressed their support for exiled Hong Kong democracy activists after the territory’s authorities issued arrest warrants and HK$1 million bounties for eight prominent exiles from the territory on Monday.
This episode marks the first time Hong Kong police have issued warrants for activists who left the territory over fears they could fail jail time over charges of “collusion with foreign forces” against its pro-Beijing authorities.
The announcement coincided with events commemorating the 26th anniversary of the UK’s handover of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997.
During a media briefing hosted in the Palace of Westminster by Bob Seely MP on Wednesday, Finn Lau and Christopher Mung – two of the three UK-based Hong Kongers with bounties on their heads – urged the British government to take firm action.
Lau called for urgent meetings with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly MP and Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP, as well as a ban on British judges sitting in the Hong Kong High Court. Mung stressed the importance of not succumbing to fear and intimidation, stating that giving in would only encourage further actions by the Chinese government.
Benedict Rogers, the Catholic chief executive of London-based human-rights NGO Hong Kong Watch, urged the British government to provide the three Hong Kongers in the UK with security advice and direct contact with the police. He also raised the need for Britain to coordinate with Interpol and diplomatic missions around the world to block the pervasive influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Rogers urged that “the time has come to impose targeted sanctions” on Beijing, as the US already has. He explained that Hong Kong Watch “made a submission several months ago to the Foreign Office” for the case of sanctioning Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. On Friday Lee Ka-chiu suggested the eight activists his government are pursuing should be treated like “rats in the street”.
Rogers also said the UK must sanction Hong Kong’s police chief, the Justice Secretary, the Secretary of Security Chris Tang “and any other Hong Kong official that is connected with this specific case or indeed is responsible for the dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedom and autonomy.”
Catholic peer Lord Shinkwin thanked the panel’s speakers “for their incredible courage”. He was “in total agreement” with their thoughts, he said, and stressed that he was hoping to raise the issue in the House of Lords.
Seely, who sits for the Isle of Wight, said the UK government ought to have “threatened to recognize Taiwan” once it became clear that the Chinese state wanted to tear up the Sino-British-Joint Declaration “because it probably was about the only thing that would have made the Beijing authorities sit up and take note”.
He compared the UK’s response to China’s actions in Hong Kong, as “too little too late,” and drew comparisons with London’s approach to “Russian threats we’ve seen over the past decade”.
Seely also acknowledged that he thought “realistically” the ship had sailed when it came to the UK recognising Taiwan in order to acquire concessions from Beijing, but that he was glad the government had rolled out “a very generous BNO [British National Overseas] visa scheme,” which has permitted some 105,200 Hong Kongers to relocate to the UK since it was launched in 2020.
In a similar vein, former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, this week called on British judges to resign from the Hong Kong High Court in response to the bounties issued by the Hong Kong government. The Catholic Lord Patten’s statement added to the growing calls for British judges to withdraw from Hong Kong courts, citing concerns over the legitimacy of these institutions.
Last March UK Supreme Court president Lord Reed said he and his colleague Lord Hodge would quit their Hong Kong roles, citing concerns that they did not wish to risk any continued participation that could appear to endorse the territory’s dwindling political liberties. The six retired British judges who currently sit as non-permanent judges in Hong Kong’s court of final appeal have previously rebuffed calls to quit, suggesting that their “continued participation” in the court’s work is “in the interest of the people of Hong Kong”.
On Thursday Catholic crossbench peer Lord Alton of Liverpool tabled an oral question regarding the government’s response to the arrest warrants and bounties issued by the Hong Kong police.
In his response, foreign office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon claimed the UK would not tolerate attempts by Chinese authorities to intimidate individuals within the country. He acknowledged the suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong and emphasised the importance of defending freedom and democracy.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat MP has been more vocal about his opposition to the Hong Kong’s authorities’ announcement than many of his government colleagues. He wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that: “Threatening the families of pro-democracy campaigners living in the UK is beyond reprehensible. Attempts at silencing people we welcome or interfering in our freedoms are unacceptable. The CCP should not be interfering in Britain.”
A former Tory leadership candidate, Tugendhat was among five British MPs sanctioned by China in March 2021.
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