Family members of the 12 #HongKong people detained in Shenzhen held a presser. One mom said she hired a Chinese lawyer to follow up on the case and she emphasized that her son won’t appoint his own lawyer. She doesn’t understand why the Chinese government ...
... wanted to appoint lawyers for his son and she worried for his well-being and safety. She kept thinking about him day and night, wondering if he is still alive. Other family members cried after she finished.
Another family member said the Chinese lawyers they hired experienced all kinds of pressure. The family members called to relevant authorities in #China to follow up and they asked the lawyers to follow up too. However, the detention center rejected all the reasonable requests ..
... made by the family members and the lawyers. The family members hope the Chinese government can directly respond to inquiries about the 12 Hong Kongers and stop letting their family members and people in Hong Kong wonder about their situations.
While there are ways to supposedly arrange the Chinese lawyers or family members to meet the detainees, relevant authorities have used all kinds of excuses to turn them down.
One detainee’s brother said his brother has asthma and he usually takes good care of himself. However, since the level of air pollution is more serious in Shenzhen, they worry that his brother’s asthma might have gotten worse. They think he needs to take medication ASAP.
They submitted relevant requests before but the Chinese police told them that they can’t process their requests. The detainee’s mom said she worried about her son’s wellbeing and whether his asthma has gotten worse. She kept crying.
Pro-democracy legislator Eddie Chu said he hopes the #HongKong government can pay attention to this case and help to arrange meeting between the detainees and their lawyers or family members. He said at least the #HK government should confirm their situations.
Chu hopes #HongKong’s general public can pay attention to the physical and mental wellbeing of the 12 detainees and their family members. He said every step made by #Beijing is hurting the family members.
Someone shared another family member’s experience, saying the family member contacted the Chinese police in Shenzhen through #HongKong police and the government. But like other family members, the Chinese police claimed that since they couldn’t verify the identities of the ...
.. family members, they asked the family member to submit their requests through a Chinese lawyer. The person described the process as “being thrown between different parties” and said the #HongKong police is a mysterious department that can’t handle the case.
The brother of the detainee with asthma said the family’s life has been normal and he thinks the international community’s attention on this case is a good thing. But he hopes foreign governments can take concrete actions to help the case be properly addressed.
Ms. Li said even if she tried to publicly prove her relationship to her son through the process in #China, she still won’t be allowed to meet him. But if there is any possibility to facilitate a meeting, family members will try anything they can.
Family members said they could go to #China on their own and they hope the #HongKong government will stop neglecting the case. They said at least they should give some updates about the case but until today, the government had said nothing.
Another one said she has been having nightmares since her son was arrested and after the Chinese human rights lawyers were harassed, she became rather hopeless about the prospect of the case. She hopes #HongKong government will show some positive attitude.
The notification indicated that the 12 detainees were charged under organizing illegal border crossing and they can face jail sentence from 7 years to life imprisonment.
Ms. Deng said they are all #HongKong people and they should come back to #HK. She said the Hong Kong Government “just doesn’t care.” According to the #NSL, the 12 might face trials in #China, where the legal system is very different from #HK.
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