Hong Kong police arrest nine over Taiwan escape plot

Hong Kong police arrested nine people accused of helping pro-democracy activists flee the former British colony for Taiwan, they announced on Friday.

The group allegedly supplied a ‘getaway’ speedboat as 12 anti-Beijing demonstrators attempted to escape, fearing prosecution by authorities there.

“Their roles include ownership of the boat, financial backing, providing accommodation before the trop, transportation to the pier and arranging their lives after arriving in Taiwan,” a police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Police also seized the equivalent of €53,000 ($63,000) in Hong Kong currency, computers, mobile phones, and financial documents relating to the boat journey.

China’s coastguard picked up the 12 activists in late August, although Hong Kong officers insist that they played no role in those arrests.

Their families say they are being held without charge at a detention center in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, just over the border from Hong Kong.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China regards as a breakaway province, regularly offers political asylum to dissidents.

Hong Kong has been rocked by anti-government protests for more than a year, initially sparked by a draft extradition law that would allow Hong Kongers to face trial in mainland China.

Some of the nine suspects arrested on Saturday had previously been detained during those demonstrations.

Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing administration imposed a new security law in June that critics saw curtails freedom of speech and the right to protest.

Read more: Joshua Wong: Hong Kong police release activist on bail

Britain handed back the territory to China in 1997, but both sides agreed a treaty that was supposed to protect basic democratic rights, such as an independent judiciary and freedom of assembly.

Dominic Raab, the British foreign secretary, said in July that Beijing should “respect Hong Kong’s autonomy and respect China’s own international obligations.”

jf/aw (AP, AFP, dpa)