An Australian man has discovered he is wanted by Hong Kong authorities via messaging platform WhatsApp.
Feng Chongyi is among 19 foreign nationals who Hong Kong police have imposed bounties on, accusing them of national security crimes.
According to Hong Kong police, the activists, who also include UK citizens, worked for what the force called a “subversive organisation” named Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy non-government group.
A reward of $HK200,000 ($38,000) each has been offered for 15 of the activists, while the four others were already wanted for $HK1 million ($194,038).
The 19 arrest warrants for the activists follow political unrest and ongoing, at times violent, protests in Hong Kong, which have quietened since Beijing imposed sweeping national security laws in 2020.
Dr Feng, who in 2017 was detained in China for a week and interrogated by authorities, described the arrest warrant as “ridiculous”.
But he said he did “not take it as a big deal” because he did not plan to return to mainland China or Hong Kong.
Feng Chongyi is one of 19 activists who are now wanted by Hong Kong police. (ABC News: Gavin Coote)
“This action shows the world the brutality of the Chinese communist regime. It also reminds the world that Hong Kong has been completely controlled by China,” he said.
“The autonomy is gone, basic liberties protected by law [are] gone, they’ve completely destroyed a beautiful city — it’s so sad.”
While Dr Feng is not originally from Hong Kong, he has been heavily involved in pro-democracy efforts, with local authorities citing his participation in a Hong Kong electoral organising committee as the reason for his arrest warrant.
In an annex by the Hong Kong Police Force, authorities accused him of “intent to overthrow the system of the People’s Republic of China”.
Dr Feng — a friend of imprisoned Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who is awaiting a death sentence in China — said he had joined the organising committee because he has many friends in Hong Kong who want democracy.
He said he was relieved Australia’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong was currently suspended.
The arrest warrant pictures all 19 people currently wanted by Hong Kong police. (ABC News)
Australia strongly objects to arrest warrants
Condemnation of the arrest warrants has poured in from politicians.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice her strong objection to the warrants for pro-democracy Australian activists.
“Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy,” Senator Wong said.
“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“
Opposition spokesperson for foreign affairs, Michaelia Cash, said the Coalition had serious concerns about Hong Kong authorities’ issuing of arrest warrants.
“We fundamentally believe in free speech. It is an essential element of our democracy,” she said in a statement.
UK Secretary of State David Lammy, who is currently in Australia, said this sort of interference in UK affairs was “totally, totally unacceptable”.
“We will stand up to it, as you would expect us to,” he told a crowd in Sydney, during an address at the Lowy Institute on Saturday.
According to reporting by Agence France-Presse, the bounties announced by Hong Kong police are viewed as largely symbolic, as those affected live overseas in nations unlikely to extradite political activists to Hong Kong or China.
According to the Hong Kong Police Force’s website, as of Friday, there were 34 people wanted by the agency for national security offences, including secession, subversion, or foreign collusion.
