Hong Kong Watch and 20 human rights groups urge UK Prime Minister to protect Hong Kongers from transnational repression

Hong Kong Watch and 20 other diaspora and human rights organisations, together with seven bountied Hong Kong activists in the UK, have issued a joint letter to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging the UK government to urgently tackle transnational repression on British soil. 

The letter, sent on 19 March 2025, marks the first anniversary after the passing of Hong Kong’s repressive homegrown national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), colloquially referred to as ‘Article 23’. The Ordinance contains broad extraterritoriality clauses which, in the words of Hong Kong Watch Advisor and former Director of Policy and Advocacy Sam Goodman, create “​​extensive powers available for transnational repression”. The SNSO has already been used to target overseas Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, with the cancellation of the Hong Kong passports of 13 activists now living in the UK, US and Australia. 

In addition to the powers granted under the SNSO, the Hong Kong government has announced arrest warrants with HK$1 million (£99,000) bounties against 19 exiled Hong Kong activists under the Beijing-imposed 2020 National Security Law, including seven activists in the UK and Hong Kong Watch Advisors Finn Lau and Ted Hui. Under the powers granted by the SNSO, the Hong Kong government has frozen the bank accounts of wanted individuals and ordered Hong Kong residents not to engage in any financial transaction with them, or risk imprisonment. 

In the letter, the signatories raise these and other concerns about intensifying transnational repression against the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK, and urges the UK government to honour its obligation to protect activists from transnational threats. 

It urges the UK government to take concrete steps to tackle transnational repression in the UK, such as by establishing a dedicated reporting mechanism and a hotline to handle reports and complaints related to transnational repression on UK soil, and ensuring all frontline law enforcement agencies, including the Police and Border Force, have the requisite understanding and capacity to tackle transnational repression effectively.

Finn Lau, Advisor to Hong Kong Watch and bountied activist, commented: 

“The UK is home to hundreds of thousands of British National (Overseas) Hong Kongers who are concerned about the transnational reach of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist Party to which it answers. 

I know all too well that the UK government’s current response to the issue of transnational repression has been inadequate to ensure the physical safety and security of bountied individuals such as myself. I urge the Prime Minister to heed the recommendations in this letter and commit to protecting diaspora communities and activists living in the UK.”

【23條通過一週年】香港監察與20個人權組織聯署促請英國首相保護港人免受跨國鎮壓

香港監察與20個民間及人權組織聯同7名身處英國的被懸紅通緝香港社運人士，去信首相施紀賢（Keir Starmer），促請英國政府緊急應對英國境內的跨國鎮壓威脅。

聯署信在2025年3月19日發出，亦即《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）苛法通過後一週年。23條包含定義廣泛的域外效力條款，香港監察顧問、前政策及倡議總監Sam Goodman在他撰寫的報告中指出，條例賦予「廣泛權力施行跨國鎮壓」。23條已被用來打壓海外香港民主活動人士，包括撤銷13名現居英國、美國和澳洲社運人士的香港護照。

除了23條立法，香港政府亦根據北京2020年強推的《國家安全法》懸紅100萬港元（99,000英鎊）通緝19名流亡香港社運人士，其中包括7名身處英國的港人，以及香港監察顧問劉祖廸和許智峯。港府其後動用23條的權力凍結被通緝人士的銀行戶口，並禁止香港居民與他們進行任何金融交易，否則可能面臨監禁。

聯署信亦就其他針對在英港人日趨嚴重的跨國鎮壓威脅提出憂慮，並促請英國政府履行義務，保護社運人士免受跨國鎮壓威脅。

聯署信促請英國政府採取具體措施，應對英國境內的跨國鎮壓問題，例如設立專門舉報機制和熱線，處理英國境內發生的跨國鎮壓案件和投訴，並確保警察和邊境部隊（Border Force）等所有前線執法機構具備有效應對跨國鎮壓的必要知識和能力。

香港監察顧問、被懸紅通緝社運人士劉祖廸表示：

「數十萬名BNO香港人以英國為家，他們對香港警察、香港政府和中共政府的跨國鎮壓長臂感到擔憂。

我非常清楚英國政府目前對跨國鎮壓問題的回應措施不足以確保像我這些被通緝人士的人身安全。我促請首相聽從信中建議，致力保護身在英國的離散社群和社運人士。」