Also on the wanted list is former district councillor Carmen Lau and activist Chloe Cheung. Both are based in the UK and lobby on behalf of two NGOs calling for more democracy in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong police have issued arrest warrants for political commentator and pollster Chung Kim-wah, who left Hong Kong for the UK in 2022, as well as two people based in Canada: former actor Joseph Tay, who co-founded the NGO HongKonger Station, and Youtuber Victor Ho.

Mr Ho has been charged with subversion while the other six have been accused inciting secession and collusion with a foreign country or external forces.

According to Hong Kong’s public broadcaster RTHK, the arrest warrants were announced by the city’s top police chiefs on Tuesday, who accused some of the wanted activists of repeatedly requesting foreign countries to impose sanctions and other measures against China and Hong Kong.

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 it was “an honour to become the first Hongkonger 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 after his release from prison by fleeing to the UK 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 return for a long time,” he wrote.