On Friday, London condemned the Hong Kong authorities offered financial bonuses in exchange for help in arresting supportive democracy activists residing in Britain.
Foreign Minister David Lami and Interior Minister Evit Cooper said in a joint statement.
On Friday, the Hong Kong authorities announced that they will provide cash rewards in exchange for information that leads to the arrest of 19 supporters of democracy residing abroad, on charges of violating the National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
The rewards range from 25 to 125 thousand dollars, according to the person who Hong Kong is seeking to arrest him.
This is the fourth time that the Hong Kong authorities have resorted to this method, which sparked severe criticism from Western countries, but China considered these criticisms a “intervention”, according to the “French Press Agency”.
In their statement, Lami and Cooper called China to stop targeting opposition voices in Britain.
About 150,000 Hong Kong citizens immigrated to Britain under a special visa system that was applied in 2021.
However, a recent proposal from the British government to reform the law handing over the wanted persons raised serious concerns, as some fear that it may pave the way for the resumption of deliveries to Hong Kong, which has been suspended since the enactment of the National Security Law for the year 2020.
In their statement, the British ministers said: “This government will continue to stand with the Hong Kong people, including those who have taken the United Kingdom as their home. We take the protection of their rights, freedoms and safety seriously. ”
