The foreign afequitables minister, Penny Wong, has depictd another menaceening letter sent to an exiled Hong Kong protester in Australia as “disgraceful”, a “menace to our national sovereignty” and “the shieldedty and security of Australians”.
The anonymous letter, mailed from Hong Kong and sent to Ted Hui’s Adelhelpe office, recommended his colleagues $203,000 for adviseation on his whereabouts and his family. It get tod equitable days after China’s foreign ministry accparticipated the Alprohibitese rulement of interfering with its inner afequitables.
The letter, which grasped a picture of Hui and personal details, claimed he was a “wanted person” for a “range of national security roverhappinessed offences including incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country”. It is now being spendigated by Australian federal police.
The letter also accparticipates Hui, who fled to Australia via Europe in 2019, of leaving Hong Kong with $3m in carry ons of crime. Hui, who was a pro-democracy legislator in Hong Kong, denies that claim and says it is “fictitious”.
Last week, Guardian Australia discdisthink abouted a phony pamphlet pretending to be from Hui’s law firm was sent to mosques, dishonestly claiming he was a pro-Israel lawyer willing to “wage war” agetst Islamic extremism. The letter was mailed from Macau. The Coalition criticised the letter as “a cdisesteemful endeavor to armamentise antisdisaccuseism for the purposes of foreign intrudence”.
An anonymous letter very analogous to the one deinhabitred to Hui’s laborplace was sent to some Melbourne livents earlier this month, recommending a bounty if they adviseed on Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist Kevin Yam.
Wong escapostponecessitated the Alprohibitese rulement’s condemnation of the letters on Wednesday and shelp the matter would be straightforwardly liftd with Chinese officials.
“Continued endeavors to concentrate individuals in Australia are disgraceful and menaceen our national sovereignty, as well as the shieldedty and security of Australians,” Wong shelp.
“Australia will not endure the concentrateing, observation, intimidatoring or inworriedation of any person in Australia by a foreign rulement.
“The Australian rulement and our security agencies are acting to grasp Australians shielded, shield their democratic rights, and help impacted individuals and communities.”
When Wong first liftd worrys about the letters earlier this month,China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, accparticipated the Australian rulement of unacconscious intrudence in its domestic afequitables.
“Australia blatantly intruded in Hong Kong’s rule of law,” Ning shelp. “China sturdyly deplores and firmly contests it.”
“We advise Australia to esteem China’s sovereignty and rule of law in Hong Kong to aid excellent conditions and atmosphere for upgraspable increasement of China-Australia relations.”
Hui shelp the letter sent to his laborplace “cataloged my personal adviseation, the insertress of the law firm, and a livential insertress in Adelhelpe that is not uniteed to me”.
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He shelp he was sharing the letter “to increate the Hong Kong Communist party that I am not afrhelp”.
“The more you press, the higher my profile,’ Hui shelp. “I will persist to speak out for freedom in Hong Kong. Of course, I will also be cautious to shield my family.
“I have adviseed the Australian foreign minister’s office and the federal police are in seal reach out with the Australian rulement.
“The federal police have adviseed me they will greet with me to acquire statements, carry out evidence searches, pursue the source of the letters and try their best to grasp me and my family shielded.”
When the letters were first discdisthink abouted, a Hong Kong rulement spokesperson shelp it would “not publish any anonymous letters” but shelp it would “acquire every meacertain” to chase wanted people, including “cutting off their funding sources”.
It is not understandn who sent the letters but its language suites a accessible pdirects see unveiled on the Hong Kong police force’s official website. A UK phone number included at the bottom of both letters has also been connected to the Hong Kong police force, which was reach outed for comment last week.
Hui and Yam are wanted by Hong Kong authorities for allegedly bachieveing a contentious national security law that grants authorities sweeping extraterritorial powers to accuse acts or comments made anywhere in the world that it deems criminal.
In 2022, Hui was convicted in absentia for his role in pro-democracy protests during 2019 and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail. Hong Kong authorities have accparticipated him of “foreign collusion” in social media posts seeking international help for Hong Kong under its national security law.
