Hong Kong 12, or 12 Hongkongers, are the twelve Hong Kong protesters previously arrested by the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), detained by the Chinese authorities in 2020 at sea after a failed attempt to flee to Taiwan.
In a post on Chinese social media dated August 26, 2020, the China Coast Guard claimed that Guangdong authorities had intercepted a speedboat on August 23 under the suspicion of illegal border crossing and that more than ten people had been detained. The released coordinates put the incident in the South China Sea, approximately from Hong Kong Island. On August 27, The Guardian cited two Hong Kong news outlets which reported, based on unnamed sources, that in the incident, a total of 12 people had been detained en route to Taiwan, of whom at least ten were Hong Kong residents. Referring to the same sources, the passengers had included activist Andy Li, who had been arrested on August 10 under charges related to the national security law and released on bail. HKPF chief Chris Tang told media on August 27 that he had heard the reports on the detention and that the force was actively seeking information from the mainland authorities.
Chinese authorities only released scant information on the situation of the detainees. On September 13, Chinese authorities announced that the detained had been brought to the Yantian Detention Centre in Shenzhen and put under "compulsory criminal detention". In a Twitter message from the same day, mainland government spokesperson Hua Chunying referred to the detainees as "elements" who had intended to separate Hong Kong from mainland China. Authorities repeatedly denied the detainees access to their families' appointed lawyers. Detention authorities claimed that the detainees had accepted government-appointed lawyers, which was denied by the families. Secretary of Security John Lee implied in statements made around that time that the Hong Kong government would not interfere with mainland law enforcement in the case.
On December 16, Yantian District authorities announced that a trial hearing was to be held in which the two oldest detainees, Quinn Moon and Tang Kai-yin, would be prosecuted for organising others to cross the border illegally, and eight would be prosecuted for crossing the border illegally. A trial hearing for the two underage defendants would be closed off to the public; they were returned to HKPF on December 28, where they were facing extra charges for allegedly absconding.
At a December 28 trial – where no relatives, Hong Kong media, or foreign ambassador representatives were allowed to audit the hearing, contrary to what the court said –, eight of the ten defendants of age were sentenced to seven months of prison terms for illegal border crossing. Quinn Moon and Tang Kai-yin were sentenced to terms of two and three years, respectively. The eight defendants of age were returned to Hong Kong police on March22, 2021. They were held in quarantine upon arrival while local courts began hearings on their cases, with Andy Li being charged under the national security law.
The incident gained attention in Hong Kong and internationally, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo releasing a press statement on September 11 in which he expressed his concern both about the detainees' welfare and their lack of access to family-appointed lawyers. On December 29, 2020, the European Union demanded fair trials and the release of the 12 detainees.
Presumed identities of the detainees In its initial notice, the Guangdong Coast Guard released only the surnames of two of the detainees, Li and Tang, but no other information about names. The South China Morning Post reported that activist Andy Li was the Li referred to. As the full names were first published by pro-Beijing media Wen Wei Po, even some family members had doubts about their veracity. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Security Bureau said that it had received advice from its mainland counterpart that the ages of the detainees ranged from 16 to 33. As of October 3, no one from Hong Kong has confirmed their identities. Two of the detained have British National Overseas passports, while a third has Hong Kong and Portuguese permanent residencies.
Tang Kai-yin ()(30): Arrested and charged for attempted arson when police found bomb-making materials in Wan Chai. Named by Chinese notice as "suspect with surname Tang" as the full name has never been released officially, Tang is charged of being the leader of the group who steered the boat. Andy Li ()(29): Founding member of pro-democracy advocacy group "Hong Kong Story" and has deep ties with anti-government international group Stand with Hong Kong and local protest group "Dragon Slaying Brigade". He was arrested by Hong Kong police on August 10 for alleged money laundering and breaching the new national security law, specifically for "colluding with foreign powers". He is the only one of the twelve who is alleged to have violated the national security law and thus is the only one possibly not tried under Hong Kong judiciary system. Wong Wai-Yin ()(29): Wong was arrested on January 16, 2020, after a police raid at his home near a border town resulted in the seizure of chemicals, electronic equipment and other items that they suspected could be used to make explosives. He was released on bail on February 14 and ordered to report to his local police office daily. Wong's last police station reporting was on August 22, and he did not show up to court on August 24. A Hong Kong court issued an arrest warrant for Wong on August 26. Li Tsz-Yin ()(29): Li was arrested in Hong Kong for alleged "rioting" on September 29, 2019, and had already been in court. Cheung Chun Fu ()(22): Hong Kong Open University student. Cheung was arrested by Hong Kong police for illicit weapon possession and was on bail. Yim Man-Him ()(21): Along with Cheung, Yim was also arrested by Hong Kong police on the same day and was on bail. Cheung Ming-Yu ()(20): At the time of his capture, Cheung was on bail pending trial. Kok Tse-Lun ()(18): Hong Kong University student. He is Portuguese due to his Macau heritage, with his citizenship having been confirmed by the Portuguese cons-l general to Macau and Hong Kong Paulo Cunha Alves. Alves vowed to work with Chinese officials to defend Kok's human rights as protected by Portuguese citizenship, but China officials responded that as long as the individual has Hong Kong residency the individual will be treated as a Chinese citizen. Kok was arrested by the Hong Kong Police Force for rioting in the Polytechnic University siege in November 2019. Cheng Tsz-Ho ()(17): He was arrested by Hong Kong police for attempted arson and was on bail. His family went to the police station to report his missing on August 24 to no avail. On the following day, police provided the family with the Chinese Guangdong coastguard arrest order, two days before the official press release from Hong Kong government. Liu Sze-Man ()(17): Similar to Cheng Tsz-Ho in the same case, Liu was on bail for possession of Molotov in 2019 September. Hoang Lam Phuc ()(16): Hoang has Vietnamese citizenship. He was arrested and detained and possibly abused by Hong Kong police, according to a Stand News report in October 2019. He was arrested for alleged arson and possession of three Motolov cocktails. Quinn Moon (): There is not much information available, but she is charged as the co-leader of the group.
Background
Although the capture happened on August 23, no information was released to the public by the Chinese coastguards until August 26. The social media post on August 26 only mentioned the GPS location, the time of arrest, and the number of Hong Kong residents detained.
On August 28, details about the presumed detainees were released to the public by Wen Wei Po, citing "unnamed sources". According to Radio Free Asia, the arrestees were presumably charged with unlawful border crossing (into mainland China) and are currently in custody in mainland China. The media-published (not officially published by authorities) arrestee names include several Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, some of whom were earlier charged with protest-related crimes by the Hong Kong Police, and one under the new national security law.
According to state-affiliated newspapers, the 12 individuals set out at around 7am on August 23 from a dock located in eastern Hong Kong's Sai Kung. It is reported that they originally planned to reach Taiwan-controlled Pratas, also known as Dongsha Island, then change ship to reach Pingtung County. They were stopped and captured at around 9am at alleged GPS location (21°54'00''N, 114°53'00''E ), a location, if factually stated by Chinese authorities, that is not owned by China, but within its contiguous zone.
Responses Hong Kong and China Government responses
August 27–28, 2020 Hong Kong Police denied any cooperation with Chinese authorities in the arrest.
The Hong Kong Security Bureau confirmed having received information relating to the detainees from the Chinese government. The bureau promised to assist family members and detainees.
In Guangdong, the province of China where the coastguards were based, the public safety division and a spokesman of the provincial authorities declined to provide more details.
September 1 Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a press conference that the Hong Kong government would do its part to protect Hong Kong citizens, but if illegal activities occurred in another judiciary region, Hong Kong could not intervene.
September 4 The human rights lawyers Lu Siwei and Ren Quanniu, who had been appointed by the detainee's family members, were denied meeting access. Both of them reported that Chinese officials had attempted to dissuade them from pursuing the case.
September 13 After the detainees' family press conference from the day before, in which they had pleaded for intervention by the Hong Kong government and possible extradition, Yantian detention center officially confirmed, for the first time, that the 12 detainees were indeed located in Yantian. Meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying publicly stated on Twitter that the 12 detainees were criminals trying to "separate Hong Kong from China", a more serious allegation than the "illegal border crossing", and a crime punishable under the Hong Kong national security law. The Hong Kong government reaffirmed its stance not to interfere with China's jurisdiction, claiming that the relevant crime "falls within the jurisdiction of the mainland and the special administrative region government respects and will not interfere with law enforcement actions."
September 19
Secretary of Security John Lee acknowledged in a TVB interview that Hong Kong authorities had only been informed of the capture five days after and claimed that all 12 detainees were in good health. He further claimed that the detainees had already chosen their lawyers provided by China. Separately on a radio interview, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said that "Hong Kong’s Immigration Department and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong had communicated with the families 80 times since the arrests" but claimed that their hands were tied.
September 26 The Hong Kong government issued a press release informing the public that the 12 detainees were now approved to be "arrested". Hong Kong Police also released a report with some data such as speed and coordinates of the boat to clarify the public's concern. According to criminal law in China, the maximum number of days of detention before sending them to the normal criminal court processa certain form of incommunicado detentionor release on bail is 37 days.
September 30 At the end of the 37-day legal limit for detention without further action, two of the 12 were formally charged with organising smuggling, and the remaining 10 individuals were charged with "illegal border crossing".
October 10