Latest news with #national security law
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
UK condemns Hong Kong cash offer for help in arresting activists
The UK has condemned the latest cash offer from Hong Kong authorities for people who help in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain. In a joint statement, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the move as "another example of transnational repression".People are being offered between $25,000 (HK$200,000) and $125,000 for information leading to the arrest of 19 individuals, all of whom are pro-democracy activists living abroad. China has denounced as "interference" criticism over this type of appeal, which it has made three times previously. The 19 people are accused of violating Beijing's national security law imposed in 2020 in response to the 2019 anti-government protests that rocked the city for amounts on offer vary depending on the individual. Among the highest offers on the list are those for Choi Ming-da and Fok Ka-chi, who Hong Kong police said operated a social media channel named "Tuesdayroad". Politician Nathan Law – who had been a lawmaker on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong – and activist and commentator Yuan Gong-Yi also appear on the lists. The first such rewards were issued in July and December 2023. They targeted Nathan Law - who told the BBC that his life became more dangerous after a bounty was announced - and Simon Cheng, a former UK consulate employee detained in 2019 in a high-profile case. The third series of rewards targeted six pro-democracy activists living in the UK and Canada, including Tony Chung, the former leader of a pro-independence group. A special visa scheme introduced in 2021 saw around 150,000 Hong Kong residents move to the UK, according to the Home Office. In November last year a Hong Kong court sentenced dozens of pro-democracy leaders to years in jail for subversion, following a controversial national security their statement in response to the latest bounty, Ms Cooper and Mr Lammy said "this government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the UK their home. We take the protection of their rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously."Their joint statement added: "The UK is committed to human rights, the rule of law, and the safety of all individuals in the UK. That's why we have taken further steps to complete the severing of ties between the UK and Hong Kong extradition systems by removing Hong Kong from the Extradition Act 2003."
South China Morning Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Appeals continue for 11 Hong Kong opposition figures jailed for subversion
Lawyers representing 11 Hong Kong opposition figures continued advancing arguments in court in a bid to overturn their convictions for conspiracy to subvert state power, saying they could not be held liable under the national security law for trying to trigger a constitutional mechanism to oust the city leader. Legal counsel on Tuesday argued that lawmakers were entitled to use their votes as a bargaining chip to push their political demands, while urging an appellate court to be cautious about criminalising political conduct in the legislature. But prosecutors said the appellants' complaint was premised on the 'wrong footing' and stressed the allegation targeted the group's 'scheme' to paralyse government operations and topple the chief executive. The prosecution also dismissed the appellants' defence that they were fighting for universal suffrage as a 'red herring.' They also argued that it would be absurd to suggest lawmakers could do as they pleased without observing the Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution, which requires the legislature to 'examine and approve' bills and lawmakers to abide by their oath of office.
South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong 47: court begins hearing appeals against activists' convictions
Legislators are entitled to prevent the passage of government budgets and bills to achieve political aims, lawyers representing 11 Hong Kong opposition figures have said, as they seek to overturn convictions for conspiracy to subvert state power following the city's largest national security trial Legal counsel on Monday urged an appellate court to refrain from adjudicating on 'political matters', saying that any 'peaceful' attempt to force the government to accede to a political agenda should be allowed in a democratic society. They also challenged the trial court's interpretation of the national security law in the high-profile case involving 47 activists and contended that the exercise of lawmakers' veto powers could not amount to 'unlawful means' that enabled a subversive act. More than 100 police officers were stationed at West Kowloon Court for the first oral hearing in the case's appeal proceedings. Three Court of First Instance judges last year convicted 14 of 16 defendants who denied plotting to paralyse the government through their involvement in an unofficial legislative 'primary' election in July 2020. The trial ran for 118 days from February to December 2023. The judges had earlier found the primary to be part of a wider plot to 'undermine, destroy or overthrow' the city government.
South China Morning Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
3 in Hong Kong remanded in custody for allegedly seeking secession
A 15-year-old boy and two others have been remanded in custody for allegedly conspiring to seek Hong Kong's independence through a Taiwan-based political organisation in breach of the national security law National security police on Friday levelled a charge of conspiring to commit secession under the Beijing-imposed law, a day after announcing their arrests and their alleged roles in the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union. The 15-year-old Secondary Three student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, courier Chan Tai-sum, 26, and waiter Ng Chi-tung, 25, were arrested between 11am and 4pm on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to subvert state power. Police decided to charge the trio with conspiracy to commit secession after consulting with the Department of Justice. A 47-year-old man also arrested in the action has been released on police bail without charge. According to a charge sheet available for press inspection, the defendants had since November 6 last year conspired with others in an attempt to separate Hong Kong from mainland China and alter the city's legal status or 'surrender' the city to a foreign country.
