Beijing blasts UK, US comments over $1m reward
The Commissioner's Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong on Tuesday said it strongly opposes comments by the US and UK on the SAR’s reward offer for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of eight people wanted for alleged national security law violations.  The eight, Dennis Kwok, Ted Hui, Nathan Law, Mung Siu-tat, Kevin Yam, Finn Lau, Anna Kwok and Yuan Gong-yi are accused of crimes such as inciting secession and colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security. In the statement, the office said the eight fugitives had "blatantly slandered the national security law and interfered in the rule of law and normal law enforcement in the SAR." A spokesman added that the accused had "long been engaged in anti-China and disruptive activities in Hong Kong". He also accused the eight of spreading political rumours about China and Hong Kong even after leaving the territory, "inciting external forces to intervene in and even sanction Hong Kong, openly challenging the authority of the national security law and the bottom line of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle." The statement came after the US and the UK condemned the HK$1m reward offer. A US State Department spokesman said the reward set "a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world."  British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, meanwhile, said his government "will not tolerate any attempts by China to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK and overseas". However, China in turn accused the UK of giving protection to fugitives. "British politicians have openly offered protection for fugitives," a spokesperson for Beijing's embassy in London said in a statement late on Monday, condemning what it called "crude interference in Hong Kong's rule of law and China's internal affairs". (Additional reporting by AFP)