The UK government is condemning Hong Kong authorities for offering financial incentives to assist with the capture of pro-democracy activists residing in Britain. This comes as the British government considers reviving an extradition agreement with Hong Kong. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper urged China to cease its targeting of opposition voices within the UK. They stated, “The Hong Kong Police Force’s move to issue more arrest warrants and bounties on people living in the UK is another example of transnational repression.”
The financial rewards, which vary between 200,000 and one million Hong Kong dollars ($25,000-$125,000), have been the subject of previous offers by Hong Kong authorities, leading to Western countries expressing strong disapproval. China, in response, viewed this as “interference.”
The British ministers’ statement affirmed the government’s commitment to supporting the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the UK their home, and emphasized the seriousness with which the rights, freedoms, and safety of these individuals are taken.
However, recent moves by the British government to reform extradition laws have raised concerns that it might lead to a comeback in extraditions to Hong Kong, which have been halted since the enactment of the 2020 national security law. The UK Home Office has applied to Parliament for changes to extradition legislation, raising the possibility of restoring extradition relationships with various regions, including Hong Kong and Zimbabwe, albeit on a case-by-case basis.
Some 150,000 Hong Kong nationals have migrated to the UK under a special visa scheme since 2021. The situation has become sensitive because of Hong Kong’s new national security law, Article 23, which has given the government broader powers to suppress dissent. Following the law’s introduction, Hong Kong began offering rewards for the capture of activists who fled the city to avoid charges linked to the pro-democracy movements.
Hong Kong’s historical ties to the UK and the reduction of its political freedoms following China’s imposition of national security laws in 2020 have made the situation between the UK and Hong Kong particularly contentious. The “one country, two systems” principle, which promised a high level of autonomy for Hong Kong upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997, including the freedom of speech, is now a significant point of contention.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/26/uk-blasts-hong-kong-rewards-for-help-to-catch-activists-overseas?traffic_source=rss
