By Kanishka Singh and Liz Lee
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said Hong Kong offered rewards to six more pro-democracy campaigners it said violated national security laws and revoked the passports of seven more in an attempt to intimidate.
The State Department also separately condemned China against two Canadian institutions and 20 people involved in human rights issues for Uyghurs and Tibet.
“We reject the Hong Kong government’s efforts to intimidate and silence those who choose to make the United States their home,” the US State Department said in a statement on Thursday, adding that some of the targeted individuals were based in the United States.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Hong Kong’s law enforcement actions are necessary to protect national sovereignty and security.
“The extraterritorial application of Hong Kong’s national security laws is fully in line with international law and practice,” ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters at a briefing on Friday.
He called the United States hypocritical for “attacking” Hong Kong’s actions while “misusing the concept of national security and exercising illegal long-term jurisdiction.”
Chinese-imposed national security laws in Hong Kong have led to US sanctions and have been used to arrest pro-democracy activists following violent street protests in 2019.
China’s National Security Protection Office in Hong Kong said on Tuesday that it supported the actions because the individuals had engaged in “anti-China” and destabilizing activities.
Beijing separately appealed to the Canada-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project and the Canada-Tibet Committee on Sunday, announcing measures including asset freezes and entry bans.
The sanctions were in contrast to Canada’s sanctions earlier this month against eight Chinese individuals it said were involved in “serious human rights abuses.”
Mao said the countermeasures are “entirely legitimate and reasonable.”
“We advise the respective country to deal with its own problems and stop political manipulation under the pretext of so-called human rights,” he said.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuse of Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in the western Xinjiang region, in mass forced labor camps. Beijing denies any wrongdoing.
China took control of Tibet in 1950. International rights groups and refugees regularly denounce what they call China’s oppressive rule in areas of Tibet.