The Yantian District People’s Court in Shenzhen announced on Monday (Dec. 28) that it would deliver a verdict on 12 Hong Kong people suspected of organizing and crossing the border, and that a concern group of 12 Hong Kong people assisting their families accused the Chinese authorities of playing political games and delaying the case indefinitely.
The Yantian District People’s Court in Shenzhen issued a notice on its official microblogging site at 6:30 p.m. Monday on the case of Deng Kai Ran and others who organized others to cross the border and smuggled across the border, saying the court “heard the case of Deng Kai Ran and Qiao Ying Yu for organizing others to smuggle across the border in accordance with the law in public session.” The announcement also said that the court heard the defense views of the defendants and their lawyers, and the case will be sentenced at a later date.
The 12 Hong Kong People’s Concern Group held a press conference in Hong Kong immediately after the announcement, accusing the Chinese authorities of trying the arrested Hong Kong people in secret and delaying the verdict indefinitely to maximize political gains. 12 Hong Kong People’s Concern Group member Zou Jiacheng accused the Yantian court of refusing to give an account of the situation to the families and refusing to let them attend the hearing, which was inhumane.
Another member of the 12 Hong Kong People’s Concern Group, Tsuen Wan District Councilor Shum Ao Fai, is concerned that the Chinese court’s delaying tactics can last for years, and as long as no sentence is handed down, they can continue to play this political game.
The announcement also stated that some Hong Kong and Shenzhen deputies to the National People’s Congress, members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, journalists and relatives of the defendants were present at the trial. The U.S. government demanded the immediate release of the 12 Hong Kong nationals.
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