Hong Kong says won't interfere with Chinese law enforcement arrest of 12 residents at sea
14 September, 2020
Hong Kong's federal government stood fast in its refusal to hinder the arrest of 12 residents seeking to flee to Taiwan by sea, despite pleas from families for assistance, declaring the crime falls under mainland Chinese jurisdiction.
In a statement late on Sunday (Sep 13) cited by public broadcaster RTHK, Hong Kong authorities explained that they had received requests for help from the groups of the people who were detained previous month by mainland police for illegal access into mainland China after trying to flee to Taiwan.
China on Sunday labelled the group as being "separatists".
"The relevant crime falls within the jurisdiction of the mainland and the special administrative region federal government respects and will not interfere with law enforcement actions," Hong Kong's federal government said.
The group was suspected of committing "various criminal offences" in Hong Kong, it added, since it urged the families to use a free of charge legal consultation service being provided.
The comments came a day after relatives of the detainees held a news conference in Hong Kong, demanding the urgent return of the 12 who were intercepted by the Guangdong coast guard on Aug 23 on a boat bound for Taiwan.
Donning masks and hats to shield their identities, families plead for all those arrested to be permitted to consult attorneys appointed by them rather than the Chinese federal government, and to be permitted to call family members in Hong Kong.
A boy aged 16 is the youngest being placed and several want medication, relatives said.
The arrests came into being 8 weeks after Beijing imposed a security regulation on the Asian financial hub following a few months of demonstrations.
Critics have said the law has pushed the former British colony onto a more authoritarian path.
China's foreign ministry explained on Sunday that the arrested persons were separatists, in response to its US counterpart's characterisation of the arrest seeing as a deterioration of people rights.
US STATE DEPT. spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus possessed tweeted the arrests had been "another exemplory case of the deterioration of individual rights in Hong Kong", and named on mainland authorities to "ensure credited process".
Source: