Family members and supporters of 12 Hong Kong people were on Saturday (November 21) at Hong Kong’s remote Mount Kat O to express their protest and concern. The 12 Hong Kong people have been held incommunicado since late August, when they were intercepted by Chinese Coast Guard officers believed to be on their way to Taiwan while attempting to board a speedboat.
One of the 12, a woman between the ages of 16 and 30, includes Hong Kong Story member Lee Yu Hin, who is suspected of violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law. They are all facing charges related to the anti-sending campaign, and were arrested on August 23 and detained at the Yantian Detention Center in Shenzhen.
Family members and supporters of the 12 Hong Kong people went to Jijao Mountain on Saturday, just a stone’s throw away from the Yantian Detention Center. They released balloons with words of remembrance on a viewing platform at the top of the mountain, chanting slogans such as “Don’t forget the righteous, release the 12” and “No to government-appointed lawyers.
The Facebook page of the “Concerned Group for the 12 Hong Kong People” said in a post on Saturday that the families’ action at Mount Kat O not only hopes that the community will continue to pay attention to the situation of the 12 Hong Kong people, but also hopes that the Chinese authorities will understand that the families are not satisfied with the official information and the “handwritten letters”, and will continue to strive for the lawyers commissioned by the families to meet their children or relatives, reject the government-appointed lawyers, and strive for the early and safe return of the 12 people to Hong Kong.
According to Hong Kong media reports, at around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, a police officer went to the family protest site at Mount Kat O and accused them of violating the ban on gathering.
The situation of the 12 Hong Kong residents who were arrested in August has attracted much attention. The authorities refused to hire a lawyer on the grounds that they already had an “official lawyer,” and after the families requested information about the “official lawyer,” the authorities made excuses.
“The “Concerned Group for the 12 Hong Kong People” said Saturday that the families have only received official information, and no lawyer has been able to meet with them and follow up on their cases.
The 12 Hong Kong people are still being held in detention centers on the mainland, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Tang Bing-keung said in a media interview on Saturday, adding that the Hong Kong government has a department and mechanism to assist in their welfare, and the police mainly liaise with the mainland authorities.
Tang said the 12 are criminals involved in serious crimes in Hong Kong, such as riots and conspiracy to commit explosives.
The arrests of the 12 Hong Kong people have received considerable attention from the international community. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month reiterated his support for the 12 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists detained in mainland China, arguing that they are not guilty of seeking freedom. Benedict Rogers, founder of the human rights organization Hong Kong Watch and vice chairman of the British Conservative Party’s Human Rights Committee, launched an online campaign calling on netizens to show solidarity with the 12 Hong Kong residents through social media. Last month, cities around the world also launched the “International Link-Up for the 12 Hong Kong People” campaign. In addition, a number of civic groups in Taiwan launched the “Taiwan March for Hong Kong” to support Hong Kong’s fight for democracy and to show solidarity with the 12 Hong Kong people detained by China.
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