The authorities have put a price on activists who fled abroad. They are speaking out anyway \u2013 governments must do likewise<\/p>
Unless the forces of history conspire in their favour, the fate of most exiled dissidents is a slow fade into obscurity. However admirable their cause or brilliant their tactics, it is hard to maintain the world\u2019s interest and support as time passes. Hong Kong\u2019s exiles are conscious of this problem. But it is Hong Kong\u2019s government which has catapulted them back into the spotlight, by placing a bounty<\/a> of 1m Hong Kong dollars each \u2013 around \u00a3100,000 \u2013 on eight activists. Three of them \u2013 Nathan Law, Finn Lau and Mung Siu-tat \u2013 now live in the UK.<\/p> They were part of the massive uprising<\/a> that wanted Beijing to uphold the promise it made at the handover in 1997: that Hong Kong could enjoy its way of life and freedoms until 2047. After the authorities crushed resistance there<\/a>, they tried to keep alive the cause from overseas. For this, they are accused of collusion with foreign forces, incitement of secession, and subversion. Hong Kong\u2019s chief executive, John Lee, has said the city will pursue them \u201cto the ends of the earth\u201d, and that they must \u201clive in fear\u201d \u2013 all for peaceful political advocacy.<\/p> Continue reading...<\/a>\n