‘Ridiculous': Hong Kong places bounty on Australian professor
University of Technology Sydney China studies professor Dr Feng Chongyi – who in 2017 was detained for 10 days while on a research trip to China – now has a bounty on him over his involvement in an unofficial pro-democracy group, Hong Kong Parliament.
He is accused of helping to organise or participate in the largely Canada-based group, which authorities in Hong Kong say aimed to subvert state power under a national security law that China imposed on the territory in 2020, following months of pro-democracy protests the year before.
Feng and the others are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial 'Hong Kong Parliament' group, which authorities say aims at achieving self-determination and drafting a 'Hong Kong constitution'.
Hong Kong police said the organisation sought to overthrow the governments of China and Hong Kong by unlawful means, that they were still investigating, and further arrests could follow.
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Regarding its 'election' process, the Hong Kong Parliament group has said on social media that it drew about 15,700 valid votes through mobile app and online voting systems. It said the candidates and elected members came from around the world including Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, the US, Canada and the UK.
Feng isn't from Hong Kong, but said he had agreed to join the group as an academic.
'It's certainly ridiculous, it does not offend me in any sense … they've got the power, they've got the influence overseas, they want to control everything even overseas,' Feng told this masthead on Saturday.
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