An Australian pro-democracy academic has labelled a warrant for his arrest by Hong Kong’s national security police as “ridiculous”, as authorities there pursue 19 overseas-based members of what they describe as a subversive organisation.
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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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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[Australian] Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Saturday that the Australian government “strongly objects” to the arrest warrants.
“Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy,” she wrote in a post on X.
“We have consistently expressed our strong objections to China and Hong Kong on the broad and extraterritorial application of Hong Kong’s national security legislation, and we will continue to do so.”
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[Hong Kong] Police offered a $HK200,000 ($39,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of Feng and 14 others.
Four others – activists Elmer Yuen, Johnny Fok, Tony Choi and Victor Ho – are subject to previous arrest warrants, each carrying a bounty of $HK1 million.
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In a joint statement UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called on Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to put an end to the deliberate targeting of critical voices overseas.
“The Hong Kong Police Force’s issuing of further arrest warrants and bounties on individuals living in the UK is another example of transnational repression. It encourages reckless behaviour on UK soil and damages Hong Kong’s international reputation,” the statement said.
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