The United States has criticized the Hong Kong government’s recent decision to issue arrest warrants and bounties for 15 more overseas activists, including some based in the United States. The move was announced by Hong Kong authorities on July 25.
In a statement released on July 26, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The United States condemns the Hong Kong government’s July 25 announcement of new arrest warrants and bounties targeting 15 additional overseas activists, including U.S.-based individuals. The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression. 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.”
Rubio also commented on the broader implications for Hong Kong’s autonomy since its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997. “With this new round of arrest warrants and bounties, the Hong Kong government continues to erode the autonomy that Beijing itself promised to the people of Hong Kong following the 1997 handover. Freedom of speech and political discourse are core American values, which the Trump Administration will continue to defend,” he said.
The U.S. has previously raised concerns about efforts by authorities in Hong Kong and China to target individuals abroad who speak out against government policies.