Hong Kong slams US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over tweet calling for release of 12 fugitives held in Shenzhen, accusing him of ‘disregarding the facts’
- The top US diplomat said the fugitives, held in a Shenzhen detention centre, had been fleeing tyranny
- A Hong Kong government spokesman says Pompeo has ‘confused right and wrong’
Hong Kong has slammed the United States’ top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, accusing him of “totally disregarding the facts” while weighing in on the case of 12 fugitives arrested at sea while trying to flee to Taiwan.
The rebuke stemmed from a tweet by the US secretary of state earlier on Saturday.
“The Hong Kong 12 should be released immediately. Their so-called ‘crime’ was to flee tyranny. Communist China today is turning Hong Kong into the East Berlin of yesteryear, actively preventing its own people from seeking freedom elsewhere,” Pompeo said.
In response, a government spokesman expressed strong dissatisfaction “with these remarks which totally disregarded the facts and confused right and wrong”.
He added that “those who break the law must face justice. This is something any society that upholds the rule of law should do”.
The 12 fugitives had been facing protest-related charges in Hong Kong and were fleeing to Taiwan by speedboat when the China Coast Guard intercepted them in mainland waters on August 23. They have been held at the Yantian district detention centre in Shenzhen since then.