More Arrests This Morning

Police made another swoop of 11 people this morning

 

This morning Hong Kong woke up to more arrests. This time it was 11 alleged accomplices to the 12 who tried to flee to Taiwan and ended up being caught by mainland authorities.

Eight men and three women were arrested for "assisting offenders". Under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, this charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

Two underage fugitives returned to Hong Kong

According to an unnamed source, these 11 people were accused of sponsoring the fugitives' attempt to abscond, with the amount of funds offered by each of them, ranging from a few thousand Hong Kong dollars to tens of thousands. 

"They also provided help, such as introducing middle men to the fugitives, arranging shoreline pickups and providing hiding locations," the source said.

The 12 fugitives were arrested last August by the Chinese coastguard. Ten were jailed for between seven months to three years on December 30 in Shenzhen for illegally crossing the border. They were fleeing charges related to the 2019 anti-government protests.

The two others were underage and had jumped bail in Hong Kong. They were recently handed back to local police and will face trial.

One of the most prominent arrested this morning was 72-year-old lawyer Daniel Wong Kwok-tung, who is also a Kowloon City district councillor. His Facebook page said officers from the police's National Security Department arrived at his home at 6.10am on Thursday.

Wong told Hongkongers not to give up as he left

As he was escorted from his office handcuffed, Wong said, "Democracy, rule of law, human rights, persistence. Hongkongers, don't give up."

Wong is known for tirelessly providing legal assistance to protesters arrested during the 2019 protests and was also behind a campaign to set up a cafe in Taiwan to employ exiled Hong Kong protesters.

He is the second lawyer to be arrested in a week after American John Clancey who was one of the 53 people swept up by the authorities in a mass arrest.

In addition to Wong, a 29-year-old Ukrainian man who works in a restaurant was arrested, along with two students and a 29-year-old independent musician called Rono Fok.

Many campaigned for their release when detained

The 11 arrested today join another nine who were taken into police custody in October on suspicion of helping the 12 escape. They are accused of providing the fugitives with the boat, as well as accommodation, transportation and money.

The authorities had warned people who assisted the fugitives would be arrested, and now here we are. 

Unless the police have more people in mind they want to arrest?