Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

As the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) last week pledged a lifetime of police pursuit for eight fugitives who fled abroad to evade the national security law, certain Western forces have once again positioned themselves as the "umbrella" for the anti-China elements seeking to create chaos in Hong Kong. 

One of the eight wanted individuals, Ted Hui Chi-fung, published an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. In the article entitled "China Puts a Bounty on My Head," Hui brazenly accused the Chinese government of threatening his safety due to his so-called support of democracy, urging the leaders of "free countries" to exert pressure on the Hong Kong government to "stop harassing pro-democracy activists overseas." Other Hong Kong fugitives on the wanted list, such as Finn Lau Cho-dik and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, have also recently appeared in the Guardian and NBC News to criticize Hong Kong's decision.

What these media outlets have failed to mention is the Hong Kong fugitives' destructive attempt to instigate confrontation and subversion. They also neglected to discuss how Hong Kong was once engulfed in violence and turmoil due to these people's incitement. Obviously, the current prosperity and stability of Hong Kong hold no significance for certain Western media outlets, as they prefer to applaud those responsible for the previous chaos in the city as "champions of freedom and democracy."

From a legal perspective, the arrest warrants approved by the Hong Kong authorities are legitimate because they are in accordance with the National Security Law for Hong Kong and follow regular warrant procedures. Yet, certain Western media outlets still choose to distort and criticize the HKSAR government's decision, showing their long-term political favoritism toward the Hong Kong rioters who incited unrest in the city in 2019.

This also demonstrates that some Western forces don't care about the rule of law in Hong Kong at all. Instead, they seek to exploit internal conflicts in Hong Kong and the differences between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland to sow discord. These forces continue to support anti-China elements that attempt to create chaos in Hong Kong, providing shelter and space for their secessionist activities.

In particular, they have not only provided the anti-China elements from Hong Kong a platform to make their voices heard, but also portrayed them as "tragic heroes suppressed by the authority" in order to gain sympathy from Western society. These media outlets maliciously distort, misinterpret and misjudge the legitimate decisions made by the Hong Kong government, using the so-called universal values of freedom and democracy as a tool. 

Since the implementation of the National Security Law, some Western countries have intensified their sheltering of these Hong Kong rioters. For instance, they have accepted fugitives seeking asylum while simultaneously playing the Hong Kong card to further contain China. 

However, such moves are more like a political show for their domestic audience, aiming to please the anti-China forces at home. They won't have any significant harm to China's institutional stability or to the further development of Hong Kong. 

As for the Hong Kong fugitives, they will for sure come to no good end. With China's growing international influence and the improved efficiency of Chinese law enforcement abroad, the room for those toxic elements from Hong Kong to continue their secessionist behaviors will only become smaller and smaller.

On the other hand, since some Western media outlets are actually using these people as mere pawns to discredit the Chinese government and the impartiality of its laws, these Hong Kong rioters will be abandoned under certain conditions and circumstances.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning put it, justice will never be late or absent. This is the best warning to those Hong Kong fugitives. To be brought to justice sooner or later is their destiny - they should know it better, so should their "umbrella."