Hong Kong cancels passports and bans financial support for 16 overseas activists
The activists were among 19 people who were targeted with arrest warrants in July for alleged roles in Hong Kong Parliament, a group the police called a subversive organization abroad. The organization is not the city's official legislature and its influence is limited.
Three of the original 19 activists were already targeted by similar measures last year.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang banned providing funds or economic resources to the 16 activists, including Victor Ho, Keung Ka-wai, Australian academic Chongyi Feng and U.S. citizen Gong Sasha, the Hong Kong government said in a statement.
Travel documents were canceled for 12 of the 16 who hold Hong Kong passports.
The government also prohibited properties from being leased to the people on the list or forming joint ventures with them. Anyone violating the orders risks a penalty of up to seven years in prison.
The 16 activists are hiding in the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan, among other regions, the government said, accusing them of continuing to engage in activities endangering national security.
The notice also accused them of intending to incite hatred against Beijing and Hong Kong through smear and slander.
'We therefore have taken such measures to make a significant impact,' the statement said.
Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory in 2020 that has effectively wiped out most public dissent following huge anti-government protests in 2019. Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile.
The measures announced Monday were issued under the powers granted by Hong Kong's homegrown national security law enacted last year.
The arrest warrants issued in July have drawn criticism from foreign governments, including the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union. Police offered rewards of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars ($25,480) to 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,400) for information leading to their arrests.
In a July statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the moves.
'The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression,' he said. 'We will not tolerate the Hong Kong government's attempts to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate Americans or anyone on U.S. soil.'
The Hong Kong office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by opposing criticism from foreign politicians, insisting the actions were legitimate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
28 minutes ago
- New York Post
Tesla sales sink in UK, Germany as Europeans warm to Chinese rival BYD
Tesla sales plunged in Europe's two biggest car markets over the past year, while low-cost Chinese rival BYD continued to race ahead — marking what industry watchers are calling a fundamental shift in the electric vehicle landscape. Elon Musk's pioneering EV company registered just 1,110 new vehicles in Germany last month, a 55% year-over-year drop in its largest European market, according to data released Tuesday. In Britain, Tesla's No. 2 market in Europe, Tesla sales cratered by nearly 60% year over year, with only 987 new registrations in July, according to the UK Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Advertisement 4 A Tesla dealership in Germany, once a symbol of dominance, now reflects the company's steep sales decline. The troubling sales figures come a day after Tesla shareholders granted Musk a new pay package worth nearly $30 billion. The eye-popping compensation is intended to keep Musk focused on the company amid sluggish sales on both sides of the Atlantic in the past 12 months after the mogul increased his political activities. In Europe, he's publicly backed far-right figures and parties — supporting Reform UK and Tommy Robinson in Britain, endorsing Germany's AfD, and expressing sympathy for Marine Le Pen in France. Advertisement In the US, the world's richest person was Donald Trump's largest donor during his presidential run and had a controversial stint in the White House as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency — before their very public falling out in May. In Germany, Tesla has tumbled from third place to eighth in electric vehicle rankings for the first half of 2025, watching its market share shrink from 8.3% to 3.6%. While Tesla has floundered, Germany's EV sales jumped 58% overall and Britain saw growth of nearly 40% over the past seven months. Advertisement 4 Elon Musk addresses the press as Tesla grapples with collapsing sales across key European markets. REUTERS BYD, which counts Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway as an investor, has raced up the charts with vehicles that cost about one-third less than Tesla's cheapest model. In Britain, the company more than quadrupled its registrations in July, building on momentum that saw it register 2,498 vehicles in June alone — a fourfold increase over the previous year. Germany tells a similar tale. BYD's first-half registrations shot up to 4,544 units, compared to around 900 during the same period last year. Advertisement 4 The BYD logo outside a dealership signals the brand's rapid rise in Western Europe, challenging Tesla's lead. Getty Images The global picture reveals just how dramatically things have shifted. BYD sold over 1.1 million plug-in vehicles during the second quarter of 2025, including both battery-only cars and plug-in hybrids, while Tesla managed about 384,000 battery-only electric vehicles. For the first time ever, BYD's battery-only EV sales actually surpassed Tesla's, with the company moving more than 2.1 million total vehicles globally in the first half of the year. Despite Tesla's woes across the pond, it has maintained its position as the most popular EV makers in the United States. 4 A protestor holds up a sign in Berlin earlier this year — one of several public actions pushing back against Tesla's image in Europe. REUTERS The company held a dominant 46% share of the EV market in the second quarter — even after sales dropped an estimated 15% in the first quarter of 2025. But competition stateside is heating up. Advertisement Legacy automakers like General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Porsche posted major year-over-year gains in EV volume, signaling a shift in the competitive landscape. Overall, EVs accounted for 7.4% of all new light-duty vehicles sold in the US during Q2 2025.
New York Post
28 minutes ago
- New York Post
Young adults are less likely to follow politics or say voting is important, new AP poll shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mairekk Griffiths, a 26-year-old cook in a Denver suburb, doesn't think he'll ever pay a lot of attention to U.S. politics unless radical change happens. 'If another party was likely to win, I'd be interested in that,' said Griffiths, who voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential race but, like many his age, does not see voting as that valuable. 'I can't say either way that voting matters,' Griffiths said. 'It's just picking the least bad option. That's what I remember my whole life — both sides are bad, but this side is less bad.' 3 College students at a voter registration table. AP Young people such as Griffiths are less engaged with U.S. politics than older Americans and less likely to say voting is important, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Young people — even those who follow politics closely — are less likely to say issues such as the economy, government spending and health care are 'extremely important' to them than comparable older adults. The findings point to a broad sense of disillusionment among younger people about the country's political system — even if, like Griffiths, they still end up casting a ballot. Alberto Medina, who leads the Center for Information and Research on Civic Engagement at Tufts University, which studies youth and politics, noted that turnout among young people hit record levels in the 2020 election and was high last year. 'There's a sense that democracy isn't working for young people. There's a lack of belief that democracy is even able to improve their lives,' Medina said. 'At the same time, we have been living in an era of high youth voting.' Disengagement from political parties and politics In another sign of their general estrangement from politics, the poll shows young adults are more likely to reject political party labels. About one-third of adults under age 30 identify as political independents who don't lean toward either major political party, compared with 17% of Americans age 60 or older. The poll also finds young people are far less likely to follow politics closely than older adults are. 3 In another sign of their general estrangement from politics, the poll shows young adults are more likely to reject political party labels. AP Only about 2 in 10 of adults under age 30 say they follow U.S. politics 'extremely' or 'very' closely, compared with about one-third of Americans overall. That's even higher among adults age 60 or older — 45% of this group says they follow U.S. politics at least very closely. Disengagement is higher among teenagers, with an AP-NORC poll from May finding 44% of teens ages 13 to 17 report following U.S. politics 'not very closely' or 'not closely at all.' Meanwhile, about two-thirds of adults under age 30 say it's 'extremely' or 'very' important to vote, compared with almost 9 in 10 over age 45 who say it's at least 'very' important to vote. Some of these habits could shift as people grow older. Younger people traditionally are less likely to vote than older people, and voter participation tends to go up with age. It's possible that engagement with politics could follow a similar pattern. Brittany Diaz, 28, follows politics closely for an unusual reason: Her oldest son, who is 7, is obsessed with the news and watches it every night. Diaz, a Republican who lives in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, suburb, acknowledges that she's unusual among her age group because she decided to start paying attention to politics when she had her first child at 20. 'Now that I have kids, I'm like, 'I need to care,'' she said. In closely following politics, Diaz is different from many other women under 30. Women in her age group are less likely than young men to say they follow U.S. politics, the poll finds. About one-quarter of men under 30 say they follow politics 'extremely' or 'very' closely, compared with 16% of women in the same age group. And about 4 in 10 young women say they follow U.S. politics 'not very closely' or 'not closely at all' compared with about a quarter of young men. Lower investment in key issues On a few issues, such as the economy and health care, the divide between the youngest and oldest Americans isn't large. About 8 in 10 Americans under age 30 say the economy is 'extremely' or 'very' important to them personally, compared with about 9 in 10 Americans age 60 or older. 3 In closely following politics, Diaz is different from many other women under 30. AP But older adults are much likelier to say topics that have taken center stage during the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term — including immigration and government spending — are 'extremely' or 'very' important to them personally compared with Americans under 30. That's even true for topics such as the situation in the Middle East, which has become a rallying cry for young activists since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. Only about 4 in 10 adults under 30 say this is highly important to them personally, compared with about 6 in 10 Americans age 60 or older. For some, that lack of interest could be related to a sense that the political system doesn't respond to their needs. At 18, Blake Marlar is just starting to pay attention to politics. As Trump's tax cut and spending bill moved through the Republican-controlled Congress, the aspiring geology major at the University of Nebraska emailed his state's two senators, both Republicans, objecting to its Medicaid cuts and increases in immigration enforcement funding. 'They didn't seem to take me seriously,' Marlar said. 'While I recognize they have to represent the whole state and the whole state doesn't agree with me, it could have been a different experience.' But he's resolved not to give up on politics: 'In the future,' he said, 'I'll do my part and vote.'
Newsweek
29 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Missing Man Found Alive After Surviving Week in Freezing Temperatures
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 26-year-old man was found alive on Monday after surviving a week in the remote Australian outback and enduring sub-freezing temperatures. Gach Top was located safe in the area of Jay Creek, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Alice Springs, the Northern Territory Police Force said in a media release. Why It Matters Top's discovery came two days after police had suspended a massive five-day search across rugged terrain using search parties, drones and aerial support to scour an area of 500 square kilometers. He was spotted by a resident of Jay Creek outstation, who then contacted his family, Australian outlet ABC News reported. "She was like, 'I found your brother'... it's a miracle," Top's sister, Nyaluak Top, told the outlet. What To Know Top was reported missing after he failed to attend a scheduled night shift, only hours after his last contact with his family on July 28. His vehicle, a red Mazda, was found the following morning some 7 kilometers west of Alice Springs on Larapinta Drive. The Northern Territory Police Force launched an extensive search, but on Thursday, the force's Acting Sergeant Chris Grotherr said forecast sub-zero overnight temperatures were increasing concerns for the missing man's welfare. Temperatures fell to minus 0.5 degrees Celsius (31 degrees Fahrenheit), Australian outlet 9News reported. On Saturday, the force said it was suspending the search and handing the case to the Northern Territory Police Southern Crime Division for further investigation. "I want to thank all the search teams who have done an excellent job covering a huge area over the past 5 days but, unfortunately, it hasn't produced the result we hoped for," said Grotherr in a statement. Authorities searching for Gach Top in rugged terrain west of Alice Springs, in an undated police photograph. Authorities searching for Gach Top in rugged terrain west of Alice Springs, in an undated police photograph. Northern Territory Police Force - Alice Springs and Southern With the official search suspended, Top's family and a team of about 25 volunteers continued to search for him, ABC News reported. "We came [to Jay Creek outstation} and I left my number with one of the ladies," Nyaluak Top told the outlet. "We went to Hermannsburg to search for him, and when we were going back, she called me as soon as we got service." Top had managed to survive by drinking water from discarded bottles found along the roadside, St John NT Ambulance Services director Andrew Thomas told 9News. What People Are Saying Nyawuor Kong, Gach Top's stepmother, told ABC News: "Thank you to the wider community, to the indigenous community, for standing with us, and for everybody who has been praying for our family, for Gach to be found alive." Northern Territory Police Force said in a media release: "Police would like to thank members of the public for their assistance." St John NT Ambulance Services director Andrew Thomas told 9News: "We commend the local community members whose vigilance helped bring this situation to a safe outcome. Their actions likely made all the difference." What Happens Next The Northern Territory Police Force said Top had been taken to a hospital for assessment. Do you have a story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@
