Rubio Criticizes Hong Kong Authorities After Warrants Issued for Overseas Activists

‘We will not tolerate the Hong Kong government’s attempts to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate ... anyone on U.S. soil,’ he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 20, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Hong Kong authorities over their decision to issue a new round of arrest warrants and bounties targeting pro-democracy activists overseas, some of whom are based in the United States.

“The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression,” Rubio said in a statement on July 26. “We will not tolerate the Hong Kong government’s attempts to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate Americans or anyone on U.S. soil.”