Hong Kong activists demand release of jailed Chinese dissidents

About 70 pro-democracy activists have marked Christmas Day by marching to Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong to demand the release of mainland dissidents in custody.

They rallied outside the gates of the office in Western district, shouting slogans and displaying pictures of jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and others detained by mainland authorities.

The protest was organised by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.

“Especially this year, we can see the suppression was worse than in previous years,” said Alliance vice-chairman Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong. “From the detention of women’s rights activists early this year to the detention of human rights lawyers in the middle of this year.

“Although we saw some high-profile dissidents like Gao Yu and Pu Zhiqiang were released for various reasons, they were still convicted.”