US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assails China for its treatment of the ‘Hong Kong 12’

Name: Ten Hong Kong fugitives captured at sea jailed for up to three years on Chinese mainland
Uploaded: 2020-12-31T19:22:01.000Z
Duration: 2 min 55 s
Description: Ten Hong Kong fugitives captured at sea jailed for up to three years on Chinese mainland

Ten pro-democracy activists were sentenced to jail terms on Wednesday, while two underage fugitives were returned to Hong Kong

Pompeo seeks release of those ‘who tried to flee this tyranny’, saying they ‘deserved a hero’s welcome abroad, not capture, a secret trial and prison sentences’

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“Hong Kong was a thriving territory until the Chinese Communist Party and its local lackeys destroyed its rule of law,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Robert Delaneyin Washington

Published: 3:22am, 1 Jan 2021Updated: 11:39pm, 1 Jan 2021

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assailed the Chinese government on Thursday and called authorities in Hong Kong “lackeys” for the treatment of a group of fugitives known as the “Hong Kong 12”.

Ten individuals, who authorities arrested at sea as they fled the city and tried to reach Taiwan by speedboat in August, were sentenced from seven months to three years in prison by a Shenzhen court on Wednesday; two underage passengers were handed over to Hong Kong police.

“Hong Kong was a thriving territory until the Chinese Communist Party and its local lackeys destroyed its rule of law and eviscerated the Hong Kong people’s freedoms,” Pompeo declared.

“The ‘Hong Kong 12’ who tried to flee this tyranny deserved a hero’s welcome abroad, not capture, a secret trial and prison sentences. The United States strongly condemns the Shenzhen court’s actions and calls for the 10 members of the group who were sentenced to jail terms to be immediately and unconditionally released.”

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Ten Hong Kong fugitives captured at sea jailed for up to three years on Chinese mainland

Pompeo’s statement joined an earlier call by the European Union for the fugitives’ return to Hong Kong. It was also the latest in a series of remarks he has made criticising Hong Kong and Chinese government officials for their moves against pro-democracy activists and opposition lawmakers in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, after Beijing imposed a controversial national security law on the city in June.