Raab slams ‘secret’ trial of Hong Kong activists who attempted to flee to Taiwan by sea

A protester in Hong Kong holds up a sign in support of the Shenzhen 12 on the first day of their trial

Credit: MIGUEL CANDELA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 

Dominic Raab, the British foreign secretary, has condemned China’s "secret" trial of a group of Hongkongers accused of trying to flee the city amid a crackdown on dissent. 

Ten defendants were scheduled to go on trial by video link Monday in Shenzhen, a city in mainland China, accused of being part of a group of 12 people who were arrested after attempting to illegally cross the border into Taiwan in August.

Two of them faced additional charges of organising the attempt to flee Hong Kong. Two minors who were also aboard the boat will be dealt with separately. 

“We are deeply concerned that members of the Shenzhen 12 were tried in secret today, having been given just three days’ notice of their trial,” Mr Raab said in a statement on Monday.

“Diplomats from Britain and a number of other countries tried to attend the court proceedings but were denied entry.”

He said that the defendants had not had access to “lawyers of their choosing”, adding: “We expect China to uphold the rule of law and conduct trials in a fair and transparent manner, consistent with the basic requirements of international human rights law.”

The Yantian District People’s Court in Shenzhen confirmed on its website that it had heard the case of the 10 defendants on Monday afternoon, and said that a verdict would be given at a later date.

The group of pro-democracy activists were arrested in August after the Chinese coastguard intercepted their speedboat, which was apparently heading for Taiwan.

The incident came two months after Beijing imposed a harsh national security law on Hong Kong in response to last year’s massive protests against Communist Party rule. Some members of the group had reportedly been facing prosecution in Hong Kong.

Ahead of the Shenzhen trial, the US embassy in Beijing had called on China to release the 12 people, saying that “their so-called ‘crime’ was to flee fled tyranny”. 

“Communist China will stop at nothing to prevent its people from seeking freedom elsewhere,” an embassy statement said.

In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called the US comments “fact-distorting”.  

“China is a country under the rule of law, where laws must be followed and lawbreakers must be brought to justice,” he told reporters in Beijing.

“We urge the US side to … immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and judicial sovereignty under the pretext of Hong Kong-related issues.”

Since protests began in Hong Kong last year, dozens of protesters have sought sanctuary in Taiwan, a democratic island that has no formal ties with China’s authoritarian government. 

However, it has been harder for them to travel to Taiwan this year as the island has closed its borders because of the pandemic.

Some have also fled further afield. Nathan Law, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent young democracy activists, relocated to Britain earlier this year, citing Beijing’s new security law.