Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised authorities in Hong Kong over their pursuit of two pro-democracy activists who live in Australia.
Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee said on Tuesday that eight pro-democracy activists who live in the UK, Australia, United States and Canada will be pursued for life for alleged national security offences.
He dismissed criticism that the move to have them arrested was a dangerous precedent.
Mr Albanese said his government was concerned and disappointed by the issuing of arrest warrants for Australian citizen Kevin Yam and permanent resident Ted Hui.
He told Australia Broadcasting Corp on Wednesday: “I am of course disappointed. I’ve said we’ll co-operate with China where we can. But we will disagree where we must. And we do disagree with China with these actions.”
Mr Albanese said he disagreed with China on the detention of Cheng Lei who is awaiting a verdict after standing trial in March last year on national security charges.
He said the Australian journalist was being held “without proper process.”
“We continue to advocate for the interests of Australia,” said Mr Albanese. “We’ll continue to do so. We will disagree where we must. We will engage in our national interest.
“This decision overnight is an example of where Australia and China do have different approaches to these issues. And we’ll stand up for our values.”
