Lee Yu-hin, one of the 12 Hong Kong people sent to China, made his first court appearance on April 7. The Hong Kong media reported that the Hong Kong police were on the alert, with at least 16 police motorcycles and many police cars on the scene, and police officers all loaded with guns and ammunition, the level of security exceeded that of Xi Jinping.
“On April 7, at around 1:30 p.m., a prison van transporting Li Yu-hsuan arrived at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court for his first court appearance.
According to Free Asia, the Hong Kong police were on the alert, with at least 16 police motorcycles and several police cars on the scene, ready to clear the way for the prison van to leave. All police officers wore bullet-proof vests and were equipped with heavy firearms. Lee Yu-hin entered the courtroom, a large number of loaded police officers outside the courtroom on guard.
According to the report, the level of Hong Kong’s state security escorting Li Yuxuan exceeded that of Xi Jinping. Some commentators believe that the Chinese Communist Party manipulated the Hong Kong government to make such a big show, in effect creating a terror effect in Hong Kong and threatening other democrats. However, this approach may make the international community more resentful.
On August 23, 2020, 12 Hong Kong people were intercepted by the Chinese Communist Party’s marine police while smuggling them across Taiwan and were sent to Shenzhen for detention. The incident sparked international concern, with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, Australia, and other countries calling on the Chinese Communist authorities to release the 12 Hong Kong residents.
On September 12, 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement expressing the United States’ deep concern about the 12 Hong Kong people, and on December 19, Pompeo tweeted that the 12 Hong Kong people had committed no crime and that their so-called “crime” was merely an attempt to escape tyranny, calling on the Chinese Communist Party to immediately release the 12 Hong Kong people.
However, the Chinese authorities still sentenced 10 Hong Kong residents to prison terms, while two other minors were repatriated to Hong Kong and taken into custody by the Hong Kong police.
On the afternoon of April 7, Li Yuxuan appeared in court wearing a white shirt and black-framed glasses. A spectator waved to Lee, he also looked at the gallery from time to time.
Lee was charged with one count of collusion with a foreign power, one count of criminal conspiracy to assist and one count of possession of ammunition without a license. The case was adjourned to May 18 for arraignment, and Lee continued to return to scabbard. He did not apply for bail, and the prosecution objected to recognizance.
The “mystery lawyer” who allegedly represented Lee claimed to the media that he was “definitely not a government-appointed lawyer”. But when he was appointed to represent Lee Yu-hsuan, he said “the client’s wishes do not want to be disclosed.
After being detained for three months in Shenzhen’s Yantian Detention Center, Li wrote a letter to his family, saying he had reflected on the situation and asking them to “stop” working to get him back to Hong Kong.
Li’s family made the letter public on Facebook, but questioned its content as being against Li’s wishes. The Chinese Communist Party has been refusing to allow family members and lawyers to visit the 12 detainees, and there are suspicions that they are being mistreated and threatened in the detention center.
Previously, Zheng Wenjie, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong, was abducted and detained in Shenzhen Detention Center. After he was released and fled to the United Kingdom, he exposed to the media that he had been tortured and mistreated by Chinese state security personnel and forced to confess guilt.
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