Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
🙌 It's Here: the Only Stock Screener You'll Ever Need Get Started
China calls Hong Kong people arrested at sea 'separatists'
Published Sep 13, 2020 07:06AM ET
Updated Sep 13, 2020 08:00AM ET
2/2
© Reuters. Hong Kong and Chinese national flags are flown behind a pair of surveillance cameras outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong
2/2
© Reuters. Hong Kong and Chinese national flags are flown behind a pair of surveillance cameras outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong
2/2
BEIJING (Reuters) - The 12 Hong Kong people arrested at sea by mainland authorities last month were separatists, a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry said on Sunday, in response to her U.S. counterpart's characterisation of the arrest as a deterioration of human rights.
The comment 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, they made their first public appeal for help and information on their relatives' plight, pleading for them to be allowed to consult lawyers appointed by their families and not the Chinese government and to be allowed to call relatives in Hong Kong.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus tweeted on Saturday that their arrest was "another example of the deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong", and called on mainland authorities to "ensure due process".
The arrests came about two months after the mainland government imposed a security law on the special administrative region following months of pro-democracy demonstrations.
China's Hua Chunying responded in another tweet.
"Seriously?! Fact check: The 12 people were arrested for illegally crossing the border in waters. They are not democratic activists, but elements attempting to separate #HongKong from China," she wrote.
The Shenzhen city police, in its first notice since the arrest, on Sunday said the 12 Hong Kong citizens were under criminal detention on suspicion of illegally crossing the border. The investigation is ongoing, it said.
"Police will protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects in accordance with law," the police said.
The relatives on Saturday said they had been given no information on the allegations, and that assistance from the Hong Kong government had been insufficient.
A spokesperson for the city's Immigration Department said staff were assisting in the case and were in regular contact with the families.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said the city government would provide assistance to the arrested citizens.
Hong Kong has its own independent legal system and rule-of-law traditions that are vastly different from mainland China, where the justice system is ultimately controlled by the Communist Party.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.