TNR Watch: Answering Chinese Bounties with US Sanctions

In March, the US government imposed sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials for intimidating and harassing Hong Kong activists abroad, and on Thai officials for complying with Beijing’s request to deport 40 Uyghur men to China. Such foreign policy responses from the United States and other democracies are vital to countering transnational repression, but by themselves they do not comprehensively address the problem.

Rounds of sanctions: On March 31, the US State Department announced that it had imposed sanctions on six individuals who had allegedly engaged in acts of transnational repression. The Chinese and Hong Kong officials identified in the announcement were accused of extraterritorially applying Hong Kong’s national security laws “to intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists who were forced to flee overseas.” Among those sanctioned were the Hong Kong government’s secretary for justice, the Hong Kong police commissioner, and a top national security official in the city.

News of the sanctions targeting the Chinese and Hong Kong figures came only two weeks after the US administration imposed sanctions in response to a separate incident of transnational repression perpetrated by the Chinese government. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 15 that an unknown number of Thai officials would be hit with visa restrictions for their involvement in the deportation of 40 Uyghur men to China in February.

Bounty letters: In recent months, Hong Kong authorities have intensified pressure on exiled activists, offering monetary bounties in exchange for information leading to the arrest of at least 19 individuals. The British neighbors of two Hong Kongers targeted by the bounties recently received letters requesting that they hand the democracy advocates over to the Chinese embassy in London. Some Melbourne residents received comparable letters urging them to inform Australian or Hong Kong law enforcement officials if they had special information on a Melbourne-based Hong Kong lawyer and bounty target.

One piece of the puzzle: Targeted sanctions against perpetrators can be a useful tool, delivering some accountability for acts of transnational repression. However, sanctions alone are not enough to combat this authoritarian practice. Democratic host countries should continue to develop domestic remedies, including criminal prosecutions, informational outreach to affected diaspora communities, and migration policies designed to ensure that exiled activists have a secure immigration status and cannot be threatened with repatriation.