Detained Hongkongers: Beijing must show its legal system can be trusted

Beijing’s handling of the 12 detainees so far is exactly why there was such fierce opposition to Hong Kong’s now-dead extradition bill

Giving those held a fair, transparent trial would help restore Hong Kong’s battered reputation and build trust in the mainland’s legal system

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The families of six of the 12 Hongkongers detained in Shenzhen meet the media at the Legislative Council building on September 12. They have appealed to the Hong Kong government to bring the detained back to the city for trial, but the government’s response offered little hope in return. Photo: Felix Wong

Michael Chugani

Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host

Published: 4:15am, 17 Sep 2020Updated: 4:45am, 17 Sep 2020

It was painful to watch TV images of sobbing parents pleading for government help for 12 young Hongkongers arrested at sea by mainland authorities while fleeing to Taiwan. What can be more distressful for parents than not knowing if their children are safe or feeling totally helpless while their offspring face an uncertain fate?

If the parents were hoping for compassion from our leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, they didn’t get it. She icily told a media briefing two days ago that the 12 were fugitives who must face mainland justice. She used equally stone-cold words last week when she refused to comment on police officers tackling a 12-year-old, unarmed girl to the ground.

I agree that the 12, who are wanted for alleged offences in Hong Kong, should bear the consequences of illegally – actually inadvertently – entering mainland waters even though mainland China’s opaque judicial system is totally alien to Hongkongers. There’s nothing we can do about that.

Beijing’s handling of the 12 so far is exactly why there was such fierce opposition to Lam’s now-dead extradition bill. Hongkongers feared that those extradited would be at the mercy of mainland China’s secretive legal system. They are now seeing that first-hand.