Twelve Hong Kong youths who participated in last year’s anti-sending campaign were intercepted by the Chinese Coast Guard in late August on their way to Taiwan on a suspected speedboat, and were detained in Shenzhen’s Yantian Detention Center for more than a month.
A Hong Kong barrister familiar with China’s judicial system said the 12 Hong Kong people are not optimistic, and that their situation is similar to that of previous Chinese human rights activists, who may face in-camera trials, televised confessions and letters of repentance.
A number of pro-democracy lawmakers asked Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung to meet with the families of the 12 Hong Kong people on Friday during a meeting of the Finance Committee, but Cheung refused.
Twelve Hong Kong youths who took part in last year’s anti-sending campaign, including “Hong Kong Story” member Lee Yu-hin, who was accused by Hong Kong police of violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, were intercepted by China’s Guangdong Provincial Coast Guard on Aug. 23 in southeastern Hong Kong waters on a suspected speedboat on their way to Taiwan and were taken to Shenzhen’s Yantian Detention Center.
Chinese lawyer says not all 12 have been assigned official lawyers.
A Chinese lawyer, who has been appointed by the families of Hong Kong residents, went to the Shenzhen Yantian Public Security Bureau on Thursday to meet with Yan Wenqian, a detained Hong Kong student, but was denied access to his lawyer. The public security bureau said that Yan had hired two other lawyers and refused to accept notarized documents from the family’s attorney.
The lawyer appointed by the family of the detained student said he checked with the Shenzhen Bureau of Justice on Thursday afternoon and learned that his client, Yan Wenqian, had not been assigned a lawyer until Thursday, when he was accepted by the bureau, which is headed by Wu Chao, director of the Yantian Legal Aid Department. The lawyer explained that the admitting officer is responsible for assigning lawyers, and that according to the Legal Aid Office’s records, Yan now has only one assigned lawyer, not the two lawyers that the Hong Kong authorities said earlier were assigned to all 12 Hong Kong people.
Another Chinese rights lawyer who was appointed by the families of the Hong Kong people said that the latest information from the lawyer appointed by Yan’s family proves that the Shenzhen police are lying, saying that the other detained Hong Kong people may not have an official lawyer until Thursday, and that the so-called official lawyer is just an excuse to prevent the family from appointing a lawyer to intervene in the case.
Zhang Yao Liang said the situation of the 12 Hong Kong people is not optimistic.
In an interview with former Democratic Party Chairman Emily Lau on Friday (September 25), Hong Kong Barrister and Solicitor Cheung Yiu-leung, a founding member of the China Lawyers’ Concern Group, said that he has been observing that the situation of the 12 Hong Kong people is not optimistic, and that their experience is very similar to past sensitive cases, such as the Chinese human rights activists, and the 709 arrests.
Zhang said that the 12 Hong Kong people have been arrested for more than a month, and that the first phase of the 37-day investigation period, which theoretically expires next Thursday (Oct. 1), should have been approved by the prosecutor’s office before Oct. 1, but he worried that Chinese authorities might extend the detention of the 12 indefinitely.
Zhang Yao Liang said: “I am a little bit worried that although there are such provisions, the authorities tend to do it depending on the nature of those cases, some of which are sensitive or involve some insider information, the court may not say whether to approve the arrests, but the continued detention, which happened a lot in the 709 arrests of human rights lawyers in 2015, that is, prolonged detention, prolonged detention, and prolonged detention. It is not uncommon for investigations, with no deadlines at all, to be extended.”
There may not be a public hearing in the case of the 12 Hong Kong people
Zhang Yao Liang predicts that the 12 Hong Kong people will be prosecuted, and he believes that Hong Kong people should be concerned about how they will be treated, especially if they will receive a fair trial. Chang expressed concern that the cases of the 12 Hong Kong people will not have a public trial.
Since the case has attracted great attention from all sectors of the Hong Kong community and the international community, he believes that the Chinese authorities may arrange for the 12 Hong Kong people to send “letters home” to their families through the public security officers who detained them, urging their families not to “speculate” on the case and not to be interviewed by the media, in an attempt to cool down the case.
The government’s decision to keep a low profile will not make the detainees feel any better, but it will make officials in mainland China more cautious about admitting their guilt and will not let them off the hook if they keep asking questions.
Families Should Insist on Legal Recourse
In response to a question from the Voice of America (VOA) about the families of the 12 Hong Kong people who have appointed lawyers to represent them, Mr. Zhang said that the families should insist that they appoint lawyers from mainland China.
Zhang Yao Liang said that it is difficult to judge how much international attention has helped the situation of the 12 Hong Kong people, and previous cases are difficult to judge, but it may deter Chinese officials from going too far.
Pro-democracy lawmaker’s request to meet with family rejected
A number of pro-democracy lawmakers on Friday demanded that Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung meet with the families of 12 Hong Kong people during a meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. Democratic Party lawmaker Kwong Chun-yu said the 12 Hong Kong people have been detained in Shenzhen for more than a month and have not been heard from, while an opinion poll also showed that more than 60 percent of Hong Kong people have asked the Hong Kong government to intervene in the case and ask Secretary of State Matthew Cheung to meet with their families.
He repeated that the Hong Kong Immigration Department and the Guangdong Office had already conveyed the families’ request to the Chinese authorities, and that the Immigration Department had already met with the families, and that the authorities would follow the usual arrangements.
The Security Bureau of Hong Kong reiterated that the 12 Hong Kong people had appointed two lawyers.
The Security Bureau replied to media inquiries Thursday night that the Hong Kong government’s Guangdong Office had checked with the authorities to see if all 12 suspects are in good health and each has appointed two lawyers. The team and the GDETO have explained the relevant laws and regulations to the arrestees’ families and reminded them to consider using the “free legal advice service” provided by a Hong Kong institution commissioned by the GDETO.
According to the Security Bureau, family members of arrested suspects can continue to contact and express their requests for assistance to the Immigration Department (ImmD). If they wish to meet with them, officers of the Immigration Department will meet with them, which is a standing arrangement.
The Security Bureau said that the Hong Kong government will, as it has always done, request that the 12 Hong Kong people be returned to Hong Kong for processing after they have been processed in Mainland China according to the law.
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