Conservative Party Calls on Canada to Join Other Democratic Nations in Condemning Hong Kong for Issuing Arrest Warrants and Bounties on Exiled Activists
The Conservatives are pressing the Canadian government to condemn Hong Kong authorities as they impose arrest bounties on more self-exiled democracy activists.
X post on Dec. 16.
“We encourage the Trudeau government to join the international community in condemning this act of transnational repression.”
issued arrest warrants for five individuals, saying that they have allegedly violated the city’s National Security Law and have fled overseas and that they have been placed on the wanted list.
The group comprises three men—Cheng Man-kit, Fok Ka-chi, and Choi Ming-da—and two women—Joey Sui and Hui Wing-ting. The five are alleged to have continued to commit the offences of incitement to secession, incitement to subversion, and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.
anti-extradition movement, a series of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in June 2019. The massive movement opposed a proposed bill aimed at facilitating the extradition of individuals from Hong Kong to the mainland. The
bill, proposed in February 2019, sparked widespread concerns about the Chinese communist regime’s increasing influence over Hong Kong and suppression of critics. It was formally withdrawn in October 2019.
closed down outspoken media outlets and arrested some
260 pro-democracy figures.
![Two million Hong Kong people turned out for the "anti-extradition" parade on June 16, 2019. (Yi Li/The Epoch Times)](https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F06%2F13%2Fid5329432-190617233359100484-600x400-600x400.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
‘Violating an International Treaty’
All five accused individuals named in the Dec. 14 arrest warrant are currently residing outside Chinese territories, with locations that include the United States and the United Kingdom. The Hong Kong police are offering a reward of HK$1 million (approximately C$171,000) for information on each.
in July, in which they issued arrest warrants along with bounties for eight pro-democracy activists in exile. Among them is Dennis Kwok, a former Hong Kong politician born in Canada.
Sino-British Joint Declaration.” Signed in 1984 between the United Kingdom and China, the treaty sets out the terms for the return of Hong Kong, a British colony at the time, to Chinese control in 1997.
![Lawmaker Dennis Kwok (C) stands outside the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on Nov. 8, 2016, after a silent march in protest at a ruling by China that effectively bars two pro-independence legislators from taking office. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F07%2F04%2Fid5374164-GettyImages-621759402-600x400.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
historical document that no longer had any practical significance.
statement on the social media platform X noting that the Hong Kong National Security Law has
garnered international criticism, including concerns raised by the
United Nations Human Rights Council.
“The politically motivated criminal accusations by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Hong Kong’s law enforcement have lost credibility internationally,” the statement reads. “HKB opposes any attempts by the CCP and the Hong Kong authorities to interfere with and stigmatise the lawful activities of the Hongkonger diaspora.”
founder and board chair of the HKB, is one of the five individuals named in the arrest warrant. Mr. Cheng, whose English name is
Simon Cheng, is Hong Kong-born and previously served in the British Consulate in Hong Kong, when he was detained in China for 15 days in 2019 while on a business trip there.
accused him of offences such as “incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security,” pointing to his advocacy for Hong Kong “independence” through various social media platforms.
Tuesdayroad,” a YouTube channel boasting over 400,000 subscribers. The channel openly criticizes the CCP and advocates for freedom of speech and democracy in Hong Kong.