Hong Kong steps up maritime patrols amid reports of local activists being intercepted at sea while attempting to flee to Taiwan
- Taiwanese newspaper reports five Hongkongers intercepted off coast in July, with incident kept under wraps because of thorny political implications
- Allowing the group to stay may violate Beijing’s national security law, while extraditing them to Hong Kong would go against the pro-independence stance of ruling party
Hong Kong authorities have stepped up maritime patrols in an effort to catch criminal suspects seeking to flee the city for Taiwan, a government source has said, as officials called on the self-governed island to return several suspects reportedly intercepted in its waters late last month.
The Hong Kong source who confirmed the heightened patrols told the Post on Saturday that he believed the recent high-profile interceptions would have a deterrent effect on local suspects who wished to flee the city by illegal means by demonstrating that the cost of such an escape could be “huge”.
Taiwanese newspaper China Times reported on Friday that the five Hong Kong activists were intercepted by the Taiwan Coast Guard at the end of July after their boat ran out of fuel and drifted towards the Pratas Islands, also known as the Dongsha Islands in Chinese.
It was reported that the five included a 24-year-old who was charged in Hong Kong for rioting, assaulting a police officer and possession of offensive weapons over last year’s months of social unrest. Also reportedly aboard was Man Ka-kin, 21, who had skipped a court appearance over a rioting charge involving the storming of the Legislative Council in July of 2019.
The five have been sent to Kaohsiung city in southern Taiwan.
