Canada follows peers, blasts Hong Kong bounties that include Edmonton-born activist

Ottawa is condemning Hong Kong officials for issuing bounties for the arrest of eight activists living abroad, days after Canada’s peers slammed the move.

Hong Kong’s national-security law restricts civil liberties in the territory, which is a special administrative region within China but was guaranteed certain democratic freedoms when Britain handed over the former colony in 1997.

Officials announced on Monday that eight pro-democracy activists who are charged under the law are the subject of bounties, with authorities offering the equivalent of roughly $170,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Edmonton-born Dennis Kwok, who renounced his Canadian citizenship when he became a Hong Kong legislator in 2012, is on that list.

Global Affairs Canada says in a tweet that it is “gravely concerned” by Hong Kong officials seeking to apply the law outside the territory, saying it undermines democratic rights and freedoms.

Today’s statement comes after the U.S., Britain and Australia condemned the move, though it’s unclear if any countries will implement sanctions or suspend co-operation with the territory in response.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2023.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press