Pro-independence Taiwanese party broadcasts recording of woman claiming to be Hong Kong localist who fled the city ahead of Mong Kok riot trial
- The audio recording of a woman claiming to be Lee Sin-yi, who skipped bail in 2017 while awaiting trial, was broadcast online by the Taiwan Statebuilding Party
- Causeway Bay bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who recently left Hong Kong for Taiwan, also appeared on the show
An audio recording of a woman claiming to be Hong Kong localist Lee Sin-yi, who reportedly fled to Taiwan in 2017 ahead of the Mong Kok riot trial, was broadcast on Tuesday in an online programme produced by the island’s pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party.
It was the second recording Lee has purportedly issued since fleeing Hong Kong. The first was in August 2017, which was also posted online.
The Mong Kok riot broke out on the eve of Lunar New Year in February 2016 when protests against police clearing hawkers off the streets degenerated into anti-government violence. Some participants have since been jailed on rioting charges. Lee was among those facing charges – for rioting and assaulting a police officer – and skipped bail when she left the city.
The woman’s audio statement was in Cantonese. The programme host, Chen Yi-chi, who is the Taiwanese party’s chairman, said the party was sent the recording on a USB thumb drive. Chen said he could not confirm Lee’s whereabouts but believed it was her voice.
Lee reportedly arrived in Taiwan on a tourist visa in January 2017 and has not left since.
The Post has contacted the Hong Kong police for comment on whether they are investigating the matter.