British non-governmental organization Hong Kong Watch, which has been closely following the human rights situation in Hong Kong, has called on the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia to implement targeted sanctions as a strong response to the Hong Kong government’s expanding transnational suppression.
The Hong Kong Police Force’s National Security Department—established in 2020 in accordance with communist China’s Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) despite millions of Hong Kongers taking to the streets in protest—announced on Dec. 24 that it is offering a reward of HK$1 million ($130,000) for each arrest of six Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who left the city for overseas amid political persecution by Beijing. The department also revoked the passports, professional qualifications, and certain financial rights of seven “absconders for crimes endangering national security.”
