Families Continue Fight for Justice

Families of the 12 detained appealed to the police for help

 

The families of the 12 people who were captured at sea by the mainland authorities are not giving up on having some kind of contact with their loved ones, who were labelled as "separatists" by Beijing.

Today they held a press conference in front of the police headquarters in Wan Chai, saying they want the police to speak to their mainland counterparts and push to get the marine radar data from that day.

Andy Li is one of the 12 detained last month

In addition they want Hong Kong officials to get directly in touch with the 12 and find out why mainland authorities have refused to allow family-appointed lawyers to meet with them at the detention centre in Shenzhen's Yantian district.

The 11 men and one woman were trying to flee to Taiwan last month before the Chinese coast guard intercepted them. They are linked to protest cases from last year, and one, Andy Li was previously arrested under the new national security law. It is believed they were hoping to gain asylum in Taiwan.

"Up till now, the lawyers appointed by the families have not been allowed to meet with the detainees. In other words, the conditions of the arrested persons are still known only to the Chinese authorities," said a statement from the families that was read out by local activist Owen Chow Ka-shing, who has been assisting them.

"The Hong Kong government has only used official information from China, becoming a willing mouthpiece of the Chinese government, and has never provided any details of sent anyone there to clarify doubts."

Lee claims 12 are in good health with no proof

On Saturday, Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu told TVB that the fugitives had "selected lawyers" from a list approved by the mainland authorities, prompting a backlash from the families, who said the city authorities were failing to ensure their loved ones' basic rights.

Even though no local officials have visited them, Lee claimed all the detainees were in good health, and that the Hong Kong government was notified about the arrests five days later.

But family members of the 12 want the government to do more, such as meet with them face-to-face or at least by phone, and to ensure their appointed lawyers can get access to their relatives.

They also urged the Marine Department to disclose key data, including radar records of the speedboat in question. Knowing the marine police's patrol routes that day could help in getting a clearer picture of what happened.

The families also want the Hong Kong police to ask their Chinese counterparts the exact time, location and process of arrest, and if any of them were injured.

Chinese coast guard arrested the 12 last month

During the press conference, the father of Li Tsz-yin, the 29-year-old surveyor, said: "I hop

e the Hong Kong government can hep me get back my son and ensure he has the least of his rights guaranteed."

Even if he cannot visit his son in Shenzhen, he hoped to receive photos verifying he was being detained. in Yantian.

It is absolutely gut-wrenching to watch the families of the 12 detained be met with silence from the mainland, and the reassurances from Lee are hardly reassuring, and only demonstrate his blind faith.

The least the Hong Kong government can do is visit these dozen people in person to reassure their families that they are still alive. But no, officials don't seem interested at all in assisting the families and just parrot what they've been told by the mainland.

While Beijing may call them "separatists", the 12 still deserve equal justice under the law, and a good start would be allowing their lawyers to see them...

 

Shying from Public Interest

The Hong Kong government is trying to sweep this incident under the carpet

At the beginning of April I wrote about the Hong Kong government is doing a terrible job archiving documents and how it was criticized by Archives Action Group chairman William Waung Sik-ying.

Well, he's at it again -- this time blasting the government on not wanting to release the full report into the Lamma ferry disaster in 2012 that killed 39 people.

The government only issued a summary of the 430-page report and did not give names of who were responsible for the collision.

Waung, a retired High Court judge, believes the victims and relatives of those killed could demand the full release of the report that will put pressure on officials to give a full public account. He said it was a matter of public interest.

"The government is quite incredibly still trying to avoid the evil day and is desperate to minimize its responsibility into the whole affair," he said. "I am disturbed... the government is taking the extraordinary position of not releasing the report, which is of course a matter of public interest."

Last year as the head of Archives Action Group, he lodged a complaint with the ombudsman arguing for better management of Marine Department records, and criticized comments by Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, who stressed confidentiality.

"The government's excuse of trying not the jeopardize possible future proceedings against the civil servants just does not wash," Waung said.

The report identifies 17 marine officials, including those at the directorate level, could be guilty of misconduct and "suspected criminality". The report has been passed on to the police for further investigation, and it also criticized the Marine Department's management for "highly unsatisfactory" record keeping.

Nevertheless the summary did not reveal the names of those possibly liable. The relatives are asking lawmakers to invite the powers and privileges laws of the Legislative Council to demand full disclosure.

Waung said the relatives may possibly get the full report by seeking legal aid and then launching a civil law suit against the government.

It has taken almost two years for the government to come out with this 430-page report -- and yet the public doesn't get to know exactly what happened and who is to blame. It has completely downplayed this tragic incident because it is to blame. But we as taxpayers have the right to know.

Hopefully the relatives will take Waung's advice and push the government to force its hand and reveal why this report is so sensitive that the public does not need to know.

What was supposed to be a happy occasion -- watching the National Day fireworks on a boat in Victoria Harbour turned into a disaster. We read stories of how children and people died, unable to evacuate the ferry fast enough because it was sinking so fast.

We need to know what happened and who is responsible so that we can try to ensure this does not happen again.

Surely the government does not want this incident repeated?