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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 China sentences 10 activists for fleeing HK
A news report on China’s jailing of 10 Hong Kong democracy advocates for illegally crossing the border is shown on a public screen in Hong Kong yesterday. Photo: Chan Long Hei, Bloomberg
/ Reuters, SHENZHEN, China
A Chinese court yesterday sentenced 10 Hong Kong democracy advocates to between seven months and three years in jail for illegally crossing the border, in a case that has drawn international attention and concern over the defendants’ treatment.
The group had all faced charges in Hong Kong over anti-government protests in the territory and have been held virtually incommunicado in a mainland prison since their boat was intercepted on Aug. 23 after leaving Hong Kong, allegedly en route to Taiwan.
The court in the city of Shenzhen, which borders the semi-autonomous former British colony of Hong Kong, found eight of the defendants guilty of the illegal crossing and sentenced them to seven months in jail and a 10,000 yuan （US$1,532） fine.
Tang Kai-Yin （鄧棨然）, 31, and Quinn Moon （喬映瑜）, 33, were found guilty of organizing an illegal border crossing and sentenced to three years and two years in prison respectively, with fines of 20,000 yuan and 15,000 yuan respectively.
The court said that the pair had acted under the instruction of others, suggesting more arrests could follow.
The defendants’ family-appointed lawyers, who were denied access to their clients, rights groups and relatives criticized the legal process.
“We have to remember that they were locked up in China cut off from the world, their families and lawyers of their choosing for four months before attending a mock trial where only [Chinese Communist Party]-approved players were allowed in,” said Beatrice Li, the sister of Andy Li （李宇軒）, 30, who was among those jailed.
Rights group Amnesty International expressed concern over the safety of the defendants in the mainland prison system.
“This group of young Hongkongers will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment in Chinese jails,” Amnesty International Asia-Pacific regional director Yamini Mishra said in a statement.
All 10 had pleaded guilty to their crimes, the court said.
The defendants all appeared for the verdicts and were taken away afterward.
Their Chinese government-appointed lawyers were not available for comment.
A Shenzhen public security bureau spokesman said that the sentences would take into account the time the 10 had already spent in detention.
Two minors who were among the 11 males and one female — aged 16 to 33 at the time of their detention — had pleaded guilty to illegal border crossing and would not be charged, the prosecutor said.
After the verdicts were announced, Hong Kong police said that the two, now aged 17 and 18, had been handed over and would appear in court in the territory after completing quarantine for COVID-19.
The pair face charges of conspiracy to commit arson and possession of an offensive weapon, and have been remanded in custody ahead of their next court appearance.
Additional reporting AFP
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
