Hong Kong has no legal basis to demand that any particular rights be extended to 12 Hong Kongers detained in China as they tried to flee by boat and they will have to face the law there, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) said yesterday.
The 12 were arrested on Aug. 23 for illegal entry into mainland Chinese waters after setting off from Hong Kong in a boat bound for Taiwan following a crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in the territory.
Their failed bid to flee to Taiwan has highlighted the fears that many people feel in Hong Kong about what they see as China’s determination to end any push for greater democracy in the territory.
Photo: AFP
Chinese police have said that the 12 were suspected of illegal border crossing, while the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called them “separatists.”
Lam was asked at her weekly news conference if she could ensure that the 12 would be afforded human rights safeguards such as presumption of innocence, fair trial and legal representation.
“We do not have the legal basis to do the things that you want us to do,” she said.
Mainland authorities have said that the legitimate rights of the 12 were being protected according to the law.
Lam said the 12 would have to face the law in mainland China before they could return to Hong Kong to face justice for any crimes committed at home.
All 12 were suspected of crimes in Hong Kong related to anti-government protests that erupted last year. Ten had been charged, released on bail and not allowed to leave the territory.
They are being detained in Shenzhen.
Asked at the news conference about the resignation of an Australian judge from Hong Kong’s top court, Lam said Judge James Spigelman gave no reason for his decision in his resignation letter to her, “so I could not speculate on his rationale for doing so.”
His resignation has raised new questions about the territory’s reputation for judicial independence.
Spigelman told Australian media that his resignation was “related to the content of the national security legislation,” but gave no details.
Hong Kong has about a dozen foreign judges on its courts who it touts as evidence of judicial impartiality under common law.
However, with the political system, the schools, security forces, most of the media and other swathes of Hong Kong society already firmly under Beijing’s control, critics worry the courts could be next, potentially undercutting the territory’s key advantage as a safe place to do business.
Additional reporting by AP
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