Hong Kong's autonomy leader, John Lee, announced Tuesday that eight pro-democracy activists who fled to the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia will be persecuted for life if they do not turn themselves in to the autonomy authorities.
"The only way these people can avoid the fate of displaced people who will be persecuted for the rest of their lives is to surrender," he told me during a speech backing the police's decision to issue arrest warrants against them. "I am not afraid of international pressure because I do not know that we are right in this case," the leader added.
The eight activists, including former lawmakers Nathan Low, Ted Huai and Dennis Kwok, are accused of violating security laws imposed on Hong Kong by China. The main charges against them are conspiracy against the state and incitement.
Hong Kong leader John Lee,
Britain and Australia reacted angrily to the decision to persecute the activists, with the State Department calling it a fatal violation of human rights and a "dangerous precedent." Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong posted a tweet saying Aceh was "deeply concerned" about the issuance of arrest warrants for the activists.
More than 260 people have been arrested in Hong Kong under security laws enacted in 2020 after massive protests that paralyzed autonomy for months and nearly led to Chinese military intervention in the city.
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