Police in China have offered a $130,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of six people.
Hong Kong authorities have awarded fines to six pro-democracy activists accused of undermining national security in the latest crackdown in a bid to curb economic inequality.
The police announcement on Tuesday is the third time that authorities have offered a reward of $1 million in Hong Kong ($130,000) for information leading to the arrest of pro-democracy activists overseas.
China's wanted list now includes 19 people accused of separatism, lawlessness or collusion.
Hong Kong's Defense Secretary Chris Tang said the activists have put national security at risk through actions such as lobbying for sanctions against Hong Kong officials and judges.
The newly added activists include Tony Chung, former director of the independent pro-Hong Kong Studentlocalism group, Joseph Tay, founder of the Canadian advocacy group Hongkonger Station, and Carmen Lau of the Hong Kong Democracy Council.
The others are Chung Kim-wah, a former researcher at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, Victor Ho, a Canadian YouTuber, and Chloe Cheung of the Hong Kong Freedom Committee.
“Since I ran away, I have often regretted not being able to serve my people until the end,” Lau said in a post on X.
“Therefore, as a member of the diaspora and a Hong Konger, I pledge to put our fight for Hong Kong ahead of everything, even myself.”
Authorities also said they had suspended the passports of seven activists added to the wanted list, including former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui.
Home to a powerful political opposition and one of Asia's freest media havens, Hong Kong has condemned almost any dissent under strict security laws imposed in response to anti-government protests in 2019.
Western governments and human rights groups have criticized the past violations in Britain, while authorities in China and Hong Kong have defended the law to restore order after violent protests in 2019.
None of the 19 people on the list who want to be sent to Hong Kong because they live in the West have expressed concern about the decrease in freedom and liberty in the city.
Kevin Yam, an Australian lawyer who was added to the wanted list last July after being charged with foreign affairs, said the latest favors could undermine the city's efforts to revive its international reputation, which has been tarnished by terrorism and other crimes. in the most critical areas of border control in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What I can say is that every time Hong Kong tries to reinvent itself, its government acts oppressively to destroy it all,” Yam told Al Jazeera.
“And they are so childish that they think that in an age of 24-hour news, dropping 'bad news' on the day after Christmas will make things seem less bad to them.”