G7 members and others targeted in PRC-linked information operation

On this page

• Summary
• Content
• Tactics, techniques and procedures
  • Covert Facebook campaign amplifies Hong Kong Police statement
  • Link to United Front, PRC's Hong Kong Liaison Office
  • Minor activity (but high engagement) targeting Mandarin-speaking audiences on Douyin
• Link to past operation targeting Canada
• Sample images

Summary

Rapid Response Mechanism Canada (RRM Canada) has detected a likely People's Republic of China (PRC)-linked campaign that seeks to target Facebook audiences in G7 countries and elsewhere. The operation amplifies information about the Hong Kong government's bounties issued on July 25, 2025 for 19 activists living abroad, including in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the US. The operation is largely being carried out on Facebook in written Cantonese, with some minor activity also observed on Douyin, Weibo, and WeChat in simplified Chinese. It received low levels of engagement on Facebook (about 125 interactions per post) but high engagement on Douyin (about 5,000 interactions per post).

Intelligence reporting indicates that one of the Facebook accounts involved in this activity, Today Review, has been historically connected to PRC government authorities and pro-PRC entities in Hong Kong. This includes links to the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

This network was also active in targeting former Conservative Party of Canada candidate Joe Tay during Canada's 45th general election in 2025.

Content

The operation features posts, videos, and cartoons parroting the Hong Kong government's claims that the activists endangered national security. It urges Facebook users to "provide information" to authorities that would lead to their arrest, in exchange for cash rewards.

Tactics, techniques and procedures

Covert Facebook campaign amplifies Hong Kong Police statement

On the morning of July 25th (Hong Kong Time), nearly 30 Facebook accounts re-posted the Hong Kong Police Force's offer of a "reward for 19 wanted persons involved in organizing, establishing, or participating in the Hong Kong Parliament^{Footnote 1} – a citizen-led initiative to elect representatives for Hong Kong diaspora members living in exile^{Footnote 2} These accounts cater to Cantonese-speaking audiences in Hong Kong and overseas diaspora communities.

The accounts claim that the Hong Kong Parliament is a "subversive organization guilty of violating Hong Kong's 2020 National Security Law."^{Footnote 3} The Facebook posts used near-identical phrasing and terminology to those that appeared in a government bulletin on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (SAR) official website that same morning.^{Footnote 4}

The Facebook information operation began 30 minutes after the bulletin appeared on the website on July 25, and continues as of today, albeit with lower levels of engagement. The Facebook post with the most engagement on the topic received 396 "shares," "likes," or "comments".^{Footnote 5}

Many of the posts claim a reward of HK$1,000,000 (equivalent of CAD$175,000) for four individuals, and HK$200,000 (equivalent of CAD$35,000) for the other 15.^{Footnote 6} The higher sum reward is a re-issue of bounties first announced in 2023.^{Footnote 7}

Many of the Facebook posts featured wanted posters of the 19 activists, with their full names in traditional Chinese listed under each black-and-white photo. Some posts added disparaging language of the 19 individuals, calling them "freaks"^{Footnote 8} or "race traitors" ^{Footnote 9} – a term to denote a person who has betrayed the PRC nation-state, as well as a traitor of the Han ethnic group, which make up China's largest demographic group.^{Footnote 10}

Link to United Front, PRC's Hong Kong Liaison Office

RRM Canada detected three groups of accounts that constitute the Facebook network – 1) accounts linked to Today Review, 2) accounts linked to media properties controlled by the PRC's Hong Kong Liaison Office, and 3) new accounts with an unclear provenance, but whose messaging maintains similarity with the other two groups.

Today Review is a Facebook page that claims to focus on current affairs, but largely promotes "positive energy" stories.^{Footnote 11} It does not disclose its affiliation in its account bio but shares website infrastructure with the Hong Kong Coalition. The group is led by two former Hong Kong chief executives known for their pro-China views.^{Footnote 12}

Today Review posts about the new warrants were boosted by six Facebook pages that share design and content similarities, including Decibel, Real Power HK, and DotNews88. These pages primarily amplified Today Review content.

The PRC's Hong Kong Liaison Office reportedly controls several news entities in the SAR, including Ta Kung Pao,^{Footnote 13} Wen Wei Po ,^{Footnote 14} the Hong Kong Commercial Daily,^{Footnote 15} and Orange News.^{Footnote 16} These outlets, however, do not divulge their relationship with the PRC government in their Facebook bios or their "about us" pages. Furthermore, neither Instagram nor Facebook labels these four outlets as "China state-controlled media," leaving users unaware of their connection to the state. RRM Canada found that all four entities were activated shortly after the Hong Kong government's arrest warrant announcement to amplify it to audiences on Facebook.

RRM Canada also observed new Facebook accounts that resemble the Today Review in style and messaging, but with an unclear provenance.  This includes a meme account called "O Mouth" that likely coordinated with the network to post satirical cartoons celebrating the bounties.^{Footnote 17}

Minor activity (but high engagement) targeting Mandarin-speaking audiences on Douyin

RRM Canada found limited activity on PRC-based platforms about the bounties. The only exceptions were a few high engagement posts on Douyin, TikTok's sister app for the PRC market. Hours after Hong Kong authorities made their announcement, Orange News posted a video that listed the full names of all 19 individuals. The video features a title bolded in red that "a reward of HK$200,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest of the fugitives."^{Footnote 18} The video received high engagement, with over 8,000 interactions.

Link to past operation targeting Canada

RRM Canada notes that this network was also active in targeting Joe Tay. On December 24th, Hong Kong authorities announced a HK$1,000,000 bounty for information leading to Mr. Tay's arrest. Shortly afterwards, the Today Review network actively targeted Cantonese-speaking audiences in Canada with manipulated information about Mr. Tay's character. The operation continued for 5 months and intersected with Mr. Tay's run for a seat in Don Valley North during GE45. On April 21, 2025, The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force made a public statement about the malign operation, noting the activity was a "series of deliberate and persistent" attempts to influence Chinese-speaking voters on Facebook, WeChat, TikTok, RedNote, and Douyin.^{Footnote 19}

Sample images

Figures 1 and 2: June 25th Facebook Posts from the Today Review network (which is likely controlled by entities affiliated with the Hong Kong Coalition); The post on the left gives a "thumbs up" to the Hong Kong Police Force National Security Department for "keeping up maintenance of national security"; the post on the right says "maintaining national security means driving out race traitors~."

Figure 3: June 25th Facebook post from the state-controlled Wen Wei Po, an online news organization based in Hong Kong. The post features photos of 19 individuals living abroad allegedly wanted for "national security crimes" – including 4 individuals who reside in Canada.

Figure 4: High engagement post on Douyin about the topic. The account –OrangeNewsHK – is controlled by the PRC's "Hong Kong Liaison Office."

Figure 5: Cartoon from O Mouth – a pro-government meme page on Facebook – skewering the overseas activists. The caption reads: "Financial lifeline cut. Top cartoon box: On the surface -- "The National Security Department wants me? I'm not even in Hong Kong, how pointless!" Bottom cartoon box: In reality -- "After the warrant, no one dares to fund me, and even Trump is cutting off the money supply. This is a big problem..." The bottom asterisk reads: "*Any person or organization in Hong Kong providing funds to involved individuals may be breaking the law."

Figure 6: Cartoon from O Mouth. The caption reads: These people from the "Hong Kong Parliament" will probably never return to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Council. Top left word balloon: "We are wanted by the Hong Kong police!! What the f*** do we do?! Top right word balloon: "If I had known it would be such a mess, I wouldn't have run for this damn councillor position." Centre balloon: "Is it too late to announce withdrawing from the election now?" Bottom left: "Damn, I thought being a councillor was so glorious, now I've become a wanted criminal." Bottom right: "Is it too late to announce withdrawing from the election now?"