Beijing, Oct 18 (NationPress) The United Nations, in its recent report on reprisals, detailed the troubling situation faced by two high-ranking members of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a nonprofit based in Washington that advocates for democracy in the region. According to findings from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published on Saturday, these individuals have reportedly been subjected to ongoing retaliation by the Chinese government due to their involvement with the UN.

The ICIJ referenced a UN report from late December 2024, which indicated that the Hong Kong government has branded senior international advocacy associate Carmen Lau and the council’s Executive Director, Anna Kwok, as fugitives for their efforts to promote democracy and independence in Hong Kong. The government has even offered a reward of approximately $130,000 each for information leading to their capture.

In an interview with ICIJ, Lau expressed that these attacks have severely affected her safety, financial security, and freedom of movement. She noted that police have interrogated her family members who still reside in Hong Kong.

Additionally, Lau alleged that her neighbors in London received flyers encouraging them to provide information to the Hong Kong government that could lead to her arrest.

“There were letters sent to my neighbors here in the UK urging them to bounty hunt me, which contained various personal details, including my exact residential address,” the ICIJ quoted Lau as stating.

“As an activist, I've always been extremely cautious about my digital presence and my personal data security. Thus, discovering that they had my address and the identities of my neighbors living in the same building was incredibly frightening,” she continued, as highlighted in the ICIJ report.

Lau pointed out that such attacks have instilled a chilling effect on other dissidents based in the UK, many of whom worry that Beijing could also target their family members back home.

“To the wider Hong Kong diaspora, these retaliatory actions create a sense of fear and silence among the people,” Lau remarked.

Moreover, the investigation titled “China Targets,” led by the ICIJ along with 42 media partners, revealed how Beijing misuses international organizations like the UN and Interpol to pursue dissidents living overseas.

The recent annual UN report has emphasized the escalating and sophisticated pattern of cross-border repression aimed at human rights activists, detailing acts of intimidation and reprisals within international organizations.

This report includes new allegations of reprisals from two dozen countries, with China being one of the key offenders. These findings resonate with the results of the ICIJ's China Targets investigation, which documented how suspected proxies for the Chinese government monitored or harassed activists at the UN headquarters in Geneva, the heart of the global human rights framework.