Hong Kong cancels passports, banning financial support for wanted activists Human Rights News

The Hong Kong Security Office announces the alleged sessions of activists in the informal parliament abroad.

Hong Kong authorities canceled passports of 12 activists abroad in the latest campaign on activities that they claim to constitute threats to national security.

The Hong Kong Security Office announced the procedures on Monday after a local court issued arrest orders last month to view the 12 activists and seven other activists supporting democracy because of their alleged roles in establishing an informal parliament abroad.

The office said that it also prevented individuals from providing financial support or renting property to 16 “clowns”, and entering into joint projects or partnerships with them.

Among the wanted activists are Chongyi Feng, an Australian citizen and professor at the University of Sydney at the University of Sydney, Sasha Gong, a US citizen and journalist who previously works in Voice of America.

The Hong Kong authorities claim that the participation of the 19 activists in the “Hong Kong Parliamentary” group is a sabotage under the Chinese National Security Law ruled by the Chinese.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said the activists continued to “firmly engage in activities that endanger national security” while hiding in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Hong Kong Parliament condemned the announcement of the arrest orders and the bonuses of activists as “a blatant abuse of legal tools to follow the political persecution.”

The group said that these measures are a clear escalation of the repression of Beijing across patriotism, which extends beyond the borders of China and violates the sovereignty of democratic states, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and members of the European Union.

Hong Kong was radically transported by its vibrant political opposition and the media, and it has radically reduced the opposition space since the introduction of the National Security Law that was nominated in Beijing in 2020 in response to the violent anti -government protests.

The opposition parties have been effectively eliminated by the city’s Legislative Council, and generally after the sensitive events, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, mainly banned.

John Lee, CEO of Hong Kong, said last month that 332 individuals have been arrested for national crimes since 2020.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials defended the law, and additional national security legislation was submitted in 2024, as necessary to restore stability to the city after the unrest resulting from the mass protests.