Hong Kong police are offering a HK$1 million (£103,000; US$129,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of six pro-democracy activists living in the UK and Canada.

Among them is Tony Chung, a former leader of the pro-independence group. Fleeed to England last year.

The group, which includes a former district councilor, an actor and a YouTuber, has been lobbying for more democracy in the area. All were charged with violating the city’s national security law.

Human Rights Watch said the arrest warrants were “a cowardly act of intimidation aimed at silencing the people of Hong Kong” and called on the British and Canadian governments to fight back.

Also on the wanted list are former district councilor Lau Ka-man and activist Ms Cheung. Both live in the UK and lobby on behalf of two NGOs calling for more democracy in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong police have issued arrest warrants for political commentator and pollster Chung Kin-wah, who left Hong Kong for the UK in 2022, as well as two Canadians: former actor Joseph Tay, co-founder of the NGO Hong Kong Station and Youtuber Victor Ho.

Stanley Ho was charged with subversion, while six others were charged with inciting secession and colluding with foreign or external forces.

The city’s top police chief announced the arrest warrants on Tuesday, accusing some of the wanted activists of repeatedly asking foreign countries to impose sanctions and other measures on China and Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s public broadcaster Radio Hong Kong reported.

Mr Chung was first convicted in 2021 for calling for Hong Kong’s secession and was released in June last year.

He posted on Instagram on Tuesday that he was “honored to be the first Hong Konger to be charged twice under the national security law.”

Mr Chung said the news came as no surprise to him as he breached a supervision order by fleeing to the UK after being released from prison last year.

“I knew this day would come. From the moment I decided to leave Hong Kong, I was fully aware that I would not be able to come back for a long time,” he wrote.

Ms. Liu posted on X that the search warrant would not stop her advocacy work. She called on the British, US and EU governments to impose sanctions on “Hong Kong human rights perpetrators”.

She also asked the UK Labor government to “seriously reconsider its strategy for dealing with transnational repression against Hong Kong people” and consider blocking the expansion of the Chinese embassy in Ta Shan.

Earlier this month Tower Hamlets Councilor Unanimous vote rejects plan to build new Chinese embassy. However, the judgment is advisory and non-binding and it will be up to Deputy Prime Minister and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner to decide whether to grant permission.

This is the third round of arrest warrants and bounties issued since Beijing implemented the national security law.

The first two rounds were released in July and December last year and targeted former legislator Nathan Law, who told the BBC last year, His life has become more dangerous since the bounty was announced -Simon Cheng, former British Consulate employee Detained in connection with a high-profile case in 2019. Both now live in the UK.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning expressed support for the move on Tuesday, saying the Chinese government supported Hong Kong in “fulfilling its responsibilities in accordance with the law.”

Hong Kong is “a society governed by the rule of law, and no one has extra-legal privileges,” she added.

Hong Kong’s controversial national security law Implementation in 2020 in response to the anti-government protests that rocked the city for months in 2019.

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities argue that the law is necessary to maintain stability and deny that it undermines autonomy, but critics say it undermines Hong Kong’s autonomy and makes broader dissent illegal.