On June 12th, the Hong Kong government announced a series of sanctions against six Hong Kong democracy activists residing in the UK, including the revocation of their Hong Kong passports. One of the individuals targeted by the Hong Kong government sanctions stated that he never applied for or possessed a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport, calling the action to cancel a non-existent document absurd.
According to information from the Hong Kong government website, Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee announced the sanctions on June 12th against former Hong Kong Legislative Council member Nathan Law, the General Secretary of Hong Kong Labor Watch Chung Kim Wah, the Executive Director of the overseas media outlet “Stand News” Dennis Lui, former staff of the UK Consulate General in Hong Kong Simon Cheng, the host of online platform “Stand News” Chris Ho, and activist Sunny Cheung.
The sanctions include prohibitions on providing or handling funds for these individuals, engaging in certain activities related to real estate, and partnerships involving business activities with fugitives. Additionally, the Hong Kong government revoked their SAR passports, suspended their professional licenses temporarily, and temporarily removed them from directorship positions.
According to the Hong Kong government, the six individuals have been granted asylum in the UK.
On June 12th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also mentioned the above-mentioned developments during a press conference.
That day, former Hong Kong Legislative Council member Nathan Law posted on Facebook, stating, “When applying for asylum in the UK in 2020, I had already surrendered my SAR passport to the Home Office and did not retrieve it even after the successful asylum application. In other words, I have not used the SAR passport since 2021, making the Hong Kong government’s statement redundant.”
Furthermore, General Secretary of Hong Kong Labor Watch Chung Kim Wah also posted on Facebook, saying, “You can cancel my passport, but you can never revoke my identity as a Hong Konger. One day, we will rightfully reclaim what we deserve with dignity.”
Former staff of the UK Consulate General in Hong Kong Simon Cheng responded on social media, stating, “The punitive measures taken by the Hong Kong government are politically motivated and ineffective. Our lives and advocacy activities in the UK remain unaffected. Attempts to silence us will only strengthen our determination to fight for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong.”
Executive Director of Stand News Dennis Lui emphasized on social media, “I want to emphasize that I only hold a British National (Overseas) passport and have never applied for or possessed a Hong Kong SAR passport. Cancelling something that fundamentally does not exist is truly absurd.”
“It is ironic that the Beijing-controlled Hong Kong government deployed the Article 23 measures on June 12th, the fifth anniversary of which is considered as a symbol of unity among the people of Hong Kong,” added Dennis Lui.