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 By Su Xinqi Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 30, 2020
On the night he made a failed attempt to flee to Taiwan by speedboat, 16-year-old Hong Konger Hoang received a phone call, signalling it was time to leave at once. The teenager is the youngest of a dozen Hong Kong activists now in mainland Chinese custody after trying to escape prosecution over last year's huge democracy protests, their boat captured by the Chinese coastguard. They have since disappeared into the mainland's opaque and party-controlled justice system, compounding fears in Hong Kong that Beijing's authoritarianism is creeping into the finance hub. Hoang was facing a charge of attempted arson for allegedly throwing petrol bombs. AFP is withholding his full name because of his age. He has a troubled relationship with his family and was taken in by a network of politically sympathetic locals while he awaited trial in Hong Kong. "When we first met, he barely talked," recalled Diana, who housed Hoang for three months and was with him during what ended up being his final night in the city. "It's hard to get close to his heart as he protects himself so much and struggles to connect with strangers," she added, asking to use a pseudonym. Hoang's behaviour that night did not strike Diana as all that unusual, she recalled. The youngster walked out the door in the early hours of August 23. But within a day Diana was worried. She had not heard anything from him. - 'I haven't washed his pillow' - Across the city, 11 other families were going through a similar ordeal. Wong Wai-yin, a 29-year-old technician who was also on the boat, kept his escape plans secret from his family. He is facing serious charges in Hong Kong of manufacturing explosives, and until he vanished had attended his bail appointments regularly. After he disappeared, his wife and mother frantically searched his belongings, fearing the worst when they came across a message apologising should anything bad happen to him. "I haven't washed his pillow since he disappeared," Wong's wife told AFP, requesting anonymity. "I am afraid that I will lose his smell some day." Rumours soon began circulating among friends, relatives and activist networks that the group had been apprehended. But it was not until August 26 that confirmation came. That day Chinese authorities announced that 12 Hong Kongers had been arrested making an "illegal border crossing". A pro-Beijing newspaper then published the names of those on board and details of the charges they faced in Hong Kong. Details later emerged of an audacious but ultimately doomed attempt to reach Taiwan -- over 700 kilometres (430 miles) away, across the South China Sea. As Beijing has cracked down on Hong Kong's democracy movement, democratic Taiwan has emerged as a sanctuary, quietly turning a blind eye to residents turning up without proper visas or paperwork. Flying to Taiwan has become harder during the coronavirus pandemic and those charged with protest-linked crimes have often had passports confiscated, leaving a potentially perilous boat crossing as the only option. The "Hong Kong 12", as the group were named, are the first known Hongkongers to be caught making the journey. - Party-controlled justice - After trying to escape prosecution in Hong Kong, the fugitives now face a much starker legal battle inside authoritarian China's party-controlled judicial system, where conviction for those charged is almost guaranteed. In Hong Kong, anyone arrested must be released if police fail to present them in court within 48 hours. The city's common law legal system, including trial by jury in an open court, is internationally respected. Across the border the system is much more opaque. Authorities only confirmed the group were in criminal detention in the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen 20 days after their arrests were announced. Even now neither Beijing nor Hong Kong authorities have officially released their names. In a joint press conference earlier this month, some family members said mainland lawyers they had appointed were repeatedly denied access to their clients, while others were warned not to talk to journalists. The accused, the families were told, had been given "government-assigned" lawyers. Hong Kong's pro-Beijing government has made clear it will only seek the return of city residents once they have been processed for any relevant crimes on the mainland. Lu Siwei, one of the mainland lawyers working on the case, believes authorities will likely make a decision on whether to charge the fugitives in early October. "If the prosecutors do not approve the arrest, the 12 Hong Kong residents should be granted bail or unconditional release by October 1," Lu wrote in his legal opinion. "If the arrest is approved, they will continue to be detained and the possibility of conviction will be very high."
China approves arrest of Hong Kong 'speedboat fugitives' The group was snared some 70 kilometres (43 miles) southeast of the city on August 23 while trying to escape by boat, authorities said at the time, adding that they were handed to police in Shenzhen, the mainland metropolis bordering Hong Kong. They had since disappeared into China's opaque judicial system, with lawyers struggling to access them and family members expressing fear over their fate. On Wednesday the People's Procuratorate of Yantian District in Shenzhen said it had approved the arrests. Two of the detainees, referred to as Deng and Qiao respectively, were arrested on suspicion of helping the others escape Hong Kong. These names were likely to refer to the Chinese surnames of detainees Tang Kai-yin and Quinn Moon. The other 10 -- including suspects surnamed Li and Huang -- were arrested for making illegal border crossings. The case remained under investigation, the statement said. Families of the 12 said in a statement they were "shocked and concerned" by the approval. Hong Kong's Security Bureau confirmed that mainland authorities informed local police of Wednesday's approval, but declined to comment on families' complaints of lawyers being barred from visiting the detainees. Some of those aboard the boat were facing prosecution in Hong Kong for activities linked to last year's huge and often violent pro-democracy protests. Lu Siwei, one of the mainland lawyers working on the case, told AFP the period of detention for investigation could last up to seven months. "Review of (the) detention's legality can be applied for any time," Lu added, but said that "for now it remains most important to seek a meeting with the 12 in custody". At least 14 mainland lawyers hired by the detainees' families have been pressured by authorities to drop their clients, according to activists. None of the lawyers have managed to see their clients in custody, while senior officials in Hong Kong said the 12 were assigned lawyers by mainland Chinese authorities. Hong Kong has its own internationally respected common law legal system where detainees are promptly produced after their arrest and tried in open court, but the judicial system on the mainland is notoriously opaque and controlled by the Communist Party, such that conviction is all but guaranteed. In June, Beijing imposed a new security law on Hong Kong, announcing it would have jurisdiction for some crimes and that mainland security agents could openly operate in the city. The prospect of Hong Kongers getting entangled in China's judicial system was the spark that lit seven months of protests last year. The movement began in response to a plan to allow extraditions to the mainland, and soon morphed into wider calls for democracy and greater police accountability. As Beijing has cracked down on Hong Kong's democracy movement, democratic Taiwan has emerged as a sanctuary, quietly turning a blind eye to residents turning up without proper visas or paperwork.
Families fear for Hong Kong fugitives in China custody Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 23, 2020 On the night he made a failed attempt to flee to Taiwan by speedboat, 16-year-old Hong Konger Hoang received a phone call, signalling it was time to leave at once. The teenager is the youngest of a dozen Hong Kong activists now in mainland Chinese custody after trying to escape prosecution over last year's huge democracy protests, their boat captured by the Chinese coastguard. They have since disappeared into the mainland's opaque and party-controlled justice system, compounding fears in Hong Ko ... read more
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