This content was first published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
Officials in Hong Kong have vowed to continue looking into thousands of people who were detained for their part in the state’s 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations, rejecting claims that costs against some 6, 000 people who were detained but not yet charged may be allowed to expire, in a signal that a crackdown on the activity will probably continue indefinitely.
” Some people have suggested that we should agree not to prosecute if no charges are brought against us by a certain day control,” Secretary for Security Chris Tang told reporters on Monday. This would be equivalent to allowing the illegal to get done.
” I do n’t think this is in line with the principle of the rule of law”, Tang said. ” If something is outlawed, then it’s unlawful, and we will prosecute if there is information”.
More than 10,000 people were detained in the course of the protests in 2019, which started as a manifesto of widespread public outcry against plans to allow the extradition of alleged criminal suspects to mainland China. They later expanded to include demands for more open elections and greater standard accountability.
But some 6, 000 of those individuals have yet to be charged, and many have fled abroad, where 13 of the most popular protesters have a wealth on their minds.
Tang’s remarks were a direct refutation of earlier remarks by previous transportation and accommodation director Anthony Cheung, who had made hints in a press interview that the authorities might consider “drawing a range” in cases that go beyond a certain time frame.
Trials were under way or completed in 2, 961 circumstances out of the 10, 279 protest-related detention by the end of March 2024, leaving tons arrested but not yet prosecuted.
Tang claimed that it took time for police to obtain evidence to support each incident and observe security footage of the protests.
The authorities have continued to assert that the motion was initiated by “hostile international forces” and could re-emerge at any time while the 2020 National Security Lawushered in a nationwide crackdown on social opposition and open dissent.
Showing fealty to Beijing
A former protester who allegedly used the name A Li for fear of reprisals claimed he finally left Hong Kong after the charges against him were dropped.
He claimed that the leadership of Chief Executive John Lee’s claim that the protests may resume at any time was primarily a display of loyalty to his Beijing-based superiors.
” To put it bluntly, it’s about getting money, blagging cash from national treasuries”, A Jing told RFA Cantonese in a new interview. ” They’re lying to get ahold of tools”.
” Everyone is aware that Hong Kong no long has the ability for the kind of large-scale participation that we saw in 2019,” he said. The majority of Hong Kong residents simply want to start living peacefully, which had, of course, think there would be no issues to deal with.
” That’s why they have to keep talking about what they’ve done and maintain on exaggerating the size of the risk”, A Jing said.
Benson Wong, a current affairs expert, claimed Tang and Lee, both former officers chiefs, are still adamant about the political rewards of their popularity as effective law-enforcers, and that they rose to power as a result of the police’s response to widespread protests.
” Most typical people are quite mild, and only want Hong Kong to return, for the assault to ease and for the environment to improve”, Wong said. However, Hong Kong is currently ruled by administrative bodies that have little respect for its governance and administration or even its economic problems.
” This leaves Hong Kongers with no hope in their current lives, or for the future”, he said.
To escape or not to retreat
Many of the 6, 000 who have been detained but never charged are now having to decide whether to retreat based on how severe they believe their potential words will be, according to A Jing.
” It actually makes sense for someone to retreat if they believe they could spend 10 or 20 years in prison because that would leave them with the majority of their lives,” he said. Some people may believe they may offer two or three years, and they may include heard that moving abroad would mean moving all they value and making a new home.
Who will, in only two or three years, begin their entire living over again? That would be absurd. So everyone has their own decision to make”, he said.
In an interview that was made available in the Ming Pao news on October 28, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam stated that arrestees were “free to live their lives.”
However, some arrestees have reported having their homes searched upon returning to Hong Kong, while others face sanctions from their businesses or professional organizations.
And people find that their well-being is impacted by the internal uncertainty surrounding a potential trial.
A previous arrestee who used only the title Chan for fear of reprisals told RFA Cantonese,” I’m anxious about all these time.” The attorney informed me that they could simply call me up one morning and proceed with the trial.
Chan, who was severely injured by police during his imprisonment, says he also suffers from flashes to the event. He said,” I feel like I have PTSD, thoughts of being pinned to the ground and beaten with police truncheons.”
The few were taken away from a incarceration room on their way back to Hong Kong, where they were for 30 minutes while Chan was searched, after returning from his previous trip to neighbor Macau to honor his girlfriend’s birthday.
The machine prompted him to do that when my ID card was registered, the man claimed. ” But every time I travel, I’ll be taken to the confinement chamber where I’ll have to give a speech, submit to a brain research and have my telephone scanned”.
He continued, adding that friends of his who are in the same situation have reported similar experiences because” I’ve been too worried to travel anywhere after that.”
