Eight out of a dozen Hong Kong activists detained last year by Chinese authorities after attempting to flee to Taiwan have been returned to the city, the Hong Kong government said.
Known as the “Hong Kong 12”, the group were captured at sea by the Chinese coastguard last August as they tried to reach Taiwan by speedboat.
The group who returned on Monday were all found guilty in December of attempting an illegal border crossing by a court in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, which is just across the border from Hong Kong.
Two underage members were returned to Hong Kong without facing prosecution while Tang Kai-yin and Quinn Moon, who were identified as group “leaders”, were sentenced to three and two years in prison respectively, according to Hong Kong media.
Most of the group, who were between the ages of 17 and 33 at the time of detention, were fleeing charges related to protest activities in Hong Kong and may face further prosecution now they have returned home.
Charges include rioting, assaulting a police officer, making a petrol bomb, possession of an offensive weapon, and making explosives, the Hong Kong government said.
“This is a bittersweet moment for Hong Kong. On the one hand, we welcome the fact that eight of the 12 are being returned to Hong Kong, but on the other, they face an uncertain future, with some facing trial and jail under the national security law. It’s a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire,” said Johnny Patterson, the policy director of the UK-based Hong Kong Watch.
Among the eight returned on Monday were Andy Li, who faces charges of collusion with a foreign country under the city’s new national security legislation, according to Amnesty International.
The plight of the Hong Kong 12 captured the attention of foreign governments including the US and UK, amid reports they had been denied access to legal representation by Chinese authorities, according to rights groups, while their families also had little knowledge of their conditions.
Several hundred protesters are believed to have fled to democratic Taiwan since Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests.
In July, Taiwan’s government opened a special office to help Hong Kong protesters and those seeking asylum, although cases remain low due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
