Hong Kong cancels passports and bans financial support for 16 overseas activists
The activists were among 19 people who were targeted with arrest warrants in July for alleged roles in Hong Kong Parliament, a group the police called a subversive organization abroad. The organization is not the city's official legislature and its influence is limited.
Three of the original 19 activists were already targeted by similar measures last year.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang banned providing funds or economic resources to the 16 activists, including Victor Ho, Keung Ka-wai, Australian academic Chongyi Feng and U.S. citizen Gong Sasha, the Hong Kong government said in a statement.
Travel documents were canceled for 12 of the 16 who hold Hong Kong passports.
The government also prohibited properties from being leased to the people on the list or forming joint ventures with them. Anyone violating the orders risks a penalty of up to seven years in prison.
The 16 activists are hiding in the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia, Thailand and Taiwan, among other regions, the government said, accusing them of continuing to engage in activities endangering national security.
The notice also accused them of intending to incite hatred against Beijing and Hong Kong through smear and slander.
"We therefore have taken such measures to make a significant impact,' the statement said.
Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory in 2020 that has effectively wiped out most public dissent following huge anti-government protests in 2019. Many activists were arrested, silenced or forced into self-exile.
The measures announced Monday were issued under the powers granted by Hong Kong's homegrown national security law enacted last year.
The arrest warrants issued in July have drawn criticism from foreign governments, including the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union. Police offered rewards of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars ($25,480) to 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,400) for information leading to their arrests.
'The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational repression,' he said. '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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
a few seconds ago
Trump administration considers releasing transcripts of DOJ interview with Ghislaine Maxwell
The Trump administration is considering publicly releasing the transcripts from Ghislaine Maxwell's interview with the Justice Department last month, multiple sources familiar with the internal discussions told ABC News. Maxwell's meetings with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche took place for nine hours over two days. There is also an audio recording of the interview, the sources said, but it's not clear whether the administration plans to release the audio to accompany any public release of the transcript. The public release of the transcripts could come as soon as this week, the sources said. Maxwell, an associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022, which she was serving at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, until her recent move to a federal prison camp in Texas. She is appealing her conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. Following his first day of meetings with Maxwell, Blanche tweeted that "The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time." Maxwell's attorney David Markus, following both days of meetings, said Maxwell was asked about "one hundred different people," and said "she didn't hold anything back." Markus, however, declined to be specific about who Maxwell was asked about or whether she provided information about others who committed crimes against victims. Thus far, the administration has not revealed any details from what Maxwell said. CNN first reported the administration was considering releasing the transcripts. In an interview with Newsmax last week when asked when Americans could hear about the contents of the meeting, Trump said: "I don't know, because I haven't spoken about it, but he's a very talented guy, Todd Blanche, and a very straight shooter, and I think he probably wanted to know, you know, just to get a feeling of it, because we'd like to release everything, but we don't want people to get hurt that shouldn't be hurt. And I would assume that was why he was there. I want to release everything. I just don't want people to get hurt."
Associated Press
a few seconds ago
- Associated Press
Nigerian customs seize over 1,600 parrots and canaries in major wildlife trafficking bust
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian customs said they seized more than 1,600 parrots and canaries that were being transported from Lagos international airport to Kuwait without a permit, in one the biggest wildlife trafficking seizures in years. The seizure is a sign of positive change in the fight against illegal wildlife trade, as Nigeria is a major hub in the global trade in protected species, Mark Ofua, West Africa spokesperson for the international non-governmental organization Wild Africa, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Customs agents seized ring-necked parakeets and green and yellow fronted canaries, two protected species, at the airport on July 31, the agency said in a statement late Monday. Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES. The statement by the customs agency said the shipment were not accompanied by a CITES permit and other documents required to prove the birds were legally obtained. Nigerian customs said an investigation to find those responsible for the illicit cargo is ongoing, and that the birds will be handed to the National Parks Service for rehabilitation and release into the wild. Ofua said Nigeria's porous borders, widespread corruption, and weak enforcement make it a key transit point for ivory, pangolin scales and other wildlife products destined for Asia. Global illegal wildlife trafficking is valued at $8–10 billion annually, he added.
Associated Press
a few seconds ago
- Associated Press
Trump narrows Fed chair candidates to four, excluding Treasury Secretary Bessent
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's whittled down his list of potential Federal Reserve chair candidates to four as he considers a successor to Jerome Powell — a choice that could reset the path of the U.S. economy. Asked on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' for a future replacement to Powell, Trump named Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. 'I think Kevin and Kevin, both Kevins, are very good,' Trump said during an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' He said two other people were also under consideration, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not among them. 'I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,' Trump said. He did not name his other two top candidates but used the opportunity to disparage Powell, whom he has dubbed 'too late' in cutting interest rates. The news that Trump plans to make a decision on the Fed chair 'soon' comes as the Republican president has been highly critical of current Powell, whose term ends in May 2026. Trump recently floated having the Fed's board of governors take full control of the U.S. central bank from Powell, whom he has relentlessly pressured to cut short-term interest rates in ways that raise questions about whether the Fed can remain free from White House politicking. Trump has openly mused about whether to remove Powell before his tenure as chair ends, but he's held off on dismissing the Fed chair after a recent Supreme Court ruling suggested he could only do so for cause rather than out of policy disagreements. The president has put pressure on Powell by claiming he mismanaged the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation project, but he's also said that he's 'highly unlikely' to fire Powell. One of the Fed's governors, Adriana Kugler, made a surprise announcement last Friday that she would be stepping away from her role. That created an opening for Trump, who called her departure 'a pleasant surprise,' to name a new Fed governor. Trump told CNBC it's 'a possibility' that his pick to replace Kugler could also be his choice to replace Powell. Here's what to know about the two known candidates: Kevin Hassett Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, has been supportive of the president's agenda — from his advocacy for income tax cuts and tariffs to his support of the recent firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Hassett served in the first Trump administration as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. As part of Hassett's farewell announcement in 2019, Trump called him a 'true friend' who did a 'great job.' Hassett became a fellow at the Hoover Institution, which is located at Stanford University. He later returned to the administration to help deal with the pandemic. On CNBC on Monday, Hassett said 'all over the U.S. government, there have been people who have been resisting Trump everywhere they can.' Kevin Warsh A former Fed governor who stepped down in 2011, Warsh is currently a fellow at the Hoover Institution. He has been supportive of cutting interest rates, a key goal of Trump's. 'The president's right to be frustrated with Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve,' Warsh said on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' last month. Warsh has been increasingly critical of Powell's Federal Reserve and in July, on CNBC, called for sweeping changes on how the Fed conducts business as well as a new Treasury-Fed accord 'like we did in 1951, after another period where we built up our nation's debt and we were stuck with a central bank that was working at cross purposes with the Treasury.' He said the Fed's 'hesitancy to cut rates, I think, is actually quite a mark against them.' 'The specter of the miss they made on inflation' after the pandemic, he said, 'it has stuck with them. So one of the reasons why the president, I think, is right to be pushing the Fed publicly is we need regime change in the conduct of policy.' 'He's very highly thought of,' Trump said in June when asked directly about Warsh. ___ Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.
