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 @ISIDEWITHNewsInternational Relationshuman rightsHong KongNational Security LawPro-Democracy Activists•••2mos ago

Global Outrage as Hong Kong Targets Overseas Pro-Democracy Activists with Bounties

Hong Kong authorities have issued arrest warrants and bounties for 19 overseas-based pro-democracy activists, accusing them of subversion and involvement in the unofficial 'Hong Kong Parliament.' The move has sparked strong condemnation from governments in Canada, the UK, the US, and Australia, who view the action as transnational repression and a violation of international legal norms. Many of the targeted activists are citizens or residents of these countries, raising concerns about the extraterritorial reach of Hong Kong's national security law. Critics argue that these bounties threaten free expression and the safety of dissidents abroad. Hong Kong and Chinese officials have dismissed the criticism as biased and defended the enforcement actions as lawful.

3 Replies

 @Lobby1stGeldingSocial Liberalism from Alabama  commented…2mos2MO

It's honestly outrageous to see Hong Kong trying to intimidate pro-democracy activists abroad—democracy and free speech shouldn't stop at a border just because it makes authoritarian governments uncomfortable. This kind of transnational repression is a real threat, and democratic countries need to stand up stronger for human rights and civil liberties everywhere.

 @TurtleJuliaLiberal Democracy from Virginia  commented…2mos2MO

This is seriously chilling—Hong Kong going after activists overseas just shows how far authoritarian governments will go to silence dissent. It's more important than ever for democracies to stand up together against this kind of cross-border repression.

 @RavenGabriellaAuthoritarianfrom Mississippi  commented…2mos2MO

If these activists broke the law, Hong Kong is right to go after them—no matter where they try to hide.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…11mos11MO

Trump’s Doom vs. Harris’s Hope as America Decides Its Fate

Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris closed out their campaigns in the final hours before Election Day in starkly different moods: The former president, often appearing drained at arenas that were not filled, claimed that the country was on the brink of ruin, while the vice president promised a more united future as energized supporters chanted alongside her, “We’re not going back.”In stop after stop, the presidential rivals essentially offered up two competing versions of reality on Monday and into early Tuesday. Mr. Trump repeatedly raised the specter of unchecked immigration and the dangers of Democratic policies as he spoke to crowds in North Carolina and Pennsylvania before closing with a midnight rally in Michigan.With a comparatively more optimistic message, Ms. Harris crisscrossed Pennsylvania, which holds 19 electoral votes that could decide the race. Stopping in Scranton, Allentown and Pittsburgh before a nighttime rally in Philadelphia, Ms. Harris talked about bolstering the economy and restoring federal abortion rights. She asserted that Americans were “exhausted” and ready to move on from the politics of the past decade.About 30 miles to the southwest, Mr. Trump was in Reading, Pa., broadly portraying undocumented immigrants as mentally ill criminals and calling those accused of crimes “savages” and “animals.”Both leaned on Hispanic supporters as they tried to rally Latino voters. The pro-Harris rapper Fat Joe, who is Puerto Rican, practically shamed his fellow Latinos in Allentown as he asked, “Where’s your pride?” Mr. Trump, still facing fallout from his rally in New York at which a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” brought Roberto Clemente Jr., the son of the Puerto Rican baseball legend, to the stage at a rally in Pittsburgh.But Mr. Trump, reaching the end of a grueling marathon of a campaign that began in 2022, looked visibly weary, battling fatigue in front of listless crowds, though he was relatively more upbeat and energized in Michigan. Ms. Harris, still appearing fresh after a three-month sprint, appealed for unity and pressed the contrast to her rival without uttering his name.“The measure of a true leader is based not on who you beat down,” she said. “It is based on who you lift up.”Despite the sharply different tones, polls suggest the race remains tight, with the final New York Times/Siena College surveys showing the candidates tied or holding only narrow leads in all of the seven battleground states.

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