By Kanishka Singh and Liz Lee
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said rewards offered by Hong Kong for six more pro-democracy activists deemed to have violated national security laws and the revocation of the passports of seven more amounted to to intimidation efforts.
The State Department also separately condemned China for taking action against two Canadian institutions and 20 individuals involved in human rights issues related to the Uyghurs and Tibet.
“We reject the Hong Kong government’s efforts to intimidate and silence people who choose to make the United States their home,” the US State Department said in a statement on Thursday, adding that some of the people targeted were based in the United States.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Hong Kong police actions were necessary to safeguard national sovereignty and security.
“The extraterritorial application of Hong Kong’s national security laws is fully consistent with international law and practice,” ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
He called the United States hypocritical for “attacking” Hong Kong’s actions while “abusing the concept of national security and exercising far-reaching illegal jurisdiction.”
National security legislation imposed by China in Hong Kong has triggered US sanctions and been used to jail pro-democracy activists after violent street protests in 2019.
China’s office for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong said on Tuesday it supported the actions, as the individuals had engaged in “anti-China” and destabilizing acts.
On Sunday, Beijing separately attacked the Canada-based Uyghur Rights Defense Project and the Canada-Tibet Committee by announcing measures including asset freezes and entry bans.
The sanctions counteracted sanctions Canada imposed earlier this month against eight Chinese individuals it said were involved in “serious human rights violations.”
Mao stated that the countermeasures are “completely legitimate and reasonable.”
“We advise the affected country to face its own problems and put an end to political manipulation under the pretext of so-called human rights,” he said.
Human rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses against the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in the western Xinjiang region, including massive use of forced labor in fields. Beijing denies any abuse.
China took control of Tibet in 1950. International human rights groups and exiles have routinely condemned what they call China’s oppressive rule in Tibetan areas.