More than 60 British lawmakers and peers have written to British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab, calling on him to demand the return of 12 Hong Kong advocates detained in China after attempting to flee to Taiwan by boat.
In a letter delivered to the foreign secretary on Thursday night, the lawmakers warned of a profound chilling effect should Chinese authorities be allowed to “prosecute and imprison Hong Kong activists in the mainland with little outcry or response from the international community.”
On Aug. 23, Chinese authorities intercepted a speedboat off the coast of Hong Kong, carrying 12 young people aged 16 to 30 allegedly attempting to seek asylum in Taiwan. Almost all of the passengers were facing charges in Hong Kong relating to last year’s protest movement.
Among the group was Andy Li (李宇軒), a young activist who had previously been arrested under Beijing’s National Security Law on suspicion of foreign collusion.
Late last month, Chinese authorities formally approved the arrest of the group for allegedly illegally crossing China’s borders.
Families and lawyers for the detained have said that authorities have denied the group access to legal assistance, contact with the outside world and in some cases medication for medical conditions.
The letter to Raab said: “In view of this, we ask that you call on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) and your counterpart in Beijing to immediately ensure the return of the 12 activists to Hong Kong, to guarantee that they have legal representation of their choosing, contact with their families and to ensure the young people access to necessary prescribed medication.”
“This is a simple matter of natural justice,” it added.
The letter said that allowing China to detain and hold Hong Kongers without international pushback would give Beijing a signal that it could use the national security legislation — which broadly outlines crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion, but includes even benign acts of dissent — to extradite other advocates.
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