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The United States government has strongly condemned the Hong Kong authorities’ July 25 announcement of arrest warrants and bounties targeting 15 additional overseas pro-democracy activists, including individuals residing in the U.S. The move marks the largest single round of extraterritorial warrants issued under Hong Kong’s national security law to date.
In a press statement issued on July 26, the Department of State described the action as a form of transnational repression, asserting that the U.S. will not tolerate attempts by the Hong Kong government to silence or intimidate individuals on American soil.
The targeted individuals are accused of participating in the “Hong Kong Parliament”, a Canada-based pro-democracy organization that held an unofficial online vote to form a symbolic legislature advocating for self-determination and democratic governance. Authorities allege the group seeks to “unlawfully overthrow” the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
Hong Kong police offered HK$200,000 (US$25,500) bounties for each of the 15 newly listed activists, while four others remain subject to HK$1 million (US$127,000) bounties from previous rounds. The bounties are largely symbolic, as most of the accused reside in countries unlikely to extradite political dissidents to Hong Kong.
The U.S. statement emphasized that these actions further erode the autonomy and freedoms promised to Hong Kong under the 1997 handover agreement, and reaffirmed the Trump Administration’s commitment to defending freedom of expression and political discourse as core American values.
You can read the full statement on the U.S. Department of State’s website.
