Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported Sunday (Dec. 27) that the Hong Kong police are looking for about 30 Hong Kong people overseas, including former Hong Kong lawmakers Hui Chi-fung and Leung Sung-hang, for allegedly violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law. Most of the suspects on the wanted list are currently in Europe, the United States or Taiwan, police sources said.
Another 40 people have been arrested by the police’s national security unit since the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law was imposed in Hong Kong on the evening of June 30.
The news was also reported by China’s official media CCTV as well as the party newspaper Global Times on Sunday, saying that some 30 “rebellious elements” who are overseas, including former lawmaker Xu Zhifeng, who has declared his exile, disqualified lawmaker Liang Songheng, former spokesman of the ‘Civil Diplomacy Network’ Zhang Kunyang and Hong Kong The report said that the former editor-in-chief of the University’s student union publication ‘The Academy’, Leung Jiping, is a member of the Hong Kong Association of Students. The report said it was understood that the wanted individuals were suspected of inciting secession or colluding with foreign countries to endanger national security, or participating in activities deemed illegal under the National Security Law, with the maximum penalty for the relevant charges being life imprisonment, and that they would be arrested as soon as they returned to Hong Kong.
The police source said it was unlikely that those Hong Kong people on the wanted list would be deported to Hong Kong by their home countries after the Hong Kong version of the national security law was implemented, but would be arrested if they returned to Hong Kong because several Western countries suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post said.
Hong Kong’s pan-democratic legislator Xu Zhifeng said on his Facebook page on Dec. 3 that he had just finished a three-day foreign visit to Denmark, where he officially announced his exile and his withdrawal from the Hong Kong Democratic Party, taking a break from Hong Kong. According to the source, Xu Zhifeng is currently in the United Kingdom.
Former directly-elected Legislative Council member Leung Chung-hang, who is on the wanted list, recently announced his exile in the United States to seek political asylum and severed ties with his family in Hong Kong.
Zhang Kunyang has also served as the spokesperson for the International Affairs Delegation of the Tertiary Education Sector. Since the outbreak of the anti-revision movement in Hong Kong last year, he has been involved in promoting international attention to Hong Kong, and has organized a delegation from the academia to the U.S. Congress to attend hearings on the anti-sending-China movement. He won the primary election of the democratic camp in July this year. He said he and his family were constantly harassed after the implementation of Hong Kong’s version of the national security law, and he eventually left Hong Kong reluctantly for security reasons.
Leung Jiping broke into Hong Kong’s Legislative Council chamber on July 1 last year to deliver his manifesto, and he was the only protester to take off his mask at the time. He was later charged with rioting, but did not appear in court for his trial. In an interview with the Voice of America when he attended a lecture in New York in September this year, Leung said he was not afraid of being wanted and would not be deterred.
Since the implementation of Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, Beijing has adopted an unprecedentedly harsh crackdown on Hong Kong, arresting a number of dissidents, including Next Media founder Lai Chi-ying, and suppressing freedom of speech, academic freedom and free space for Hong Kong people. In the view of the pro-democracy activists, the status quo in Hong Kong is tantamount to the Red Scare, making it impossible for them to continue their activities for democracy in Hong Kong, and leaving Hong Kong temporarily and continuing to speak out for Hong Kong overseas is a viable option forced by reality.
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