In Transient
On Jan. 26, the White Home stated in an announcement that greater than 1,200 political prisoners have been locked up in Hong Kong, and one other 10,000 folks have been arrested on different prices in reference to anti-government protests.
Chinese language officers responded by accusing the U.S. of being a “scaremonger” by exaggerating the variety of folks detained in Hong Kong for political actions. China says solely about 230 locals have been arrested for the reason that metropolis’s 2020 Nationwide Safety Regulation (NSL) was adopted.
Asia Truth Test Lab (AFCL) discovered the accusation that the U.S. is exaggerating the variety of arrests to be false, because the quantity is in accordance with paperwork the Hong Kong authorities itself has launched. Additionally, the variety of folks China claims have been arrested is deceptive as a result of the determine solely included arrests linked to “endangering national security” made after the NSL was adopted and never the big variety of circumstances tied to political protests earlier than its passage.
In Depth
On Jan. 26, President Biden signed a memorandum extending the eligibility of Hong Kong citizens to stay in the U.S. below the Deferred Enforced Departure for a further two years. The DED is an executive humanitarian relief mechanism that permits choose international nationals from areas present process political oppression or pure disasters to briefly reside within the U.S.
Citing troublesome political circumstances in Hong Kong, the memo states that there are greater than 1,200 political prisoners within the metropolis. Over 10,000 folks have been arrested for different prices in connection to anti-government protests.
The Chinese language Overseas Ministry Commissioner’s Office in Hong Kong criticized the White Home announcement, saying that it “aims to provide a safe haven for anti-China forces who left Hong Kong.”
The ministry spokesperson stated the U.S. is a “sheer scaremonger” for exaggerating the quantity of people that have been arrested in Hong Kong. The spokesperson stated that solely about 230 folks have been arrested on suspicion of endangering nationwide safety, and solely about 30 have been convicted “after fair trials” below the NSL, which went into impact in June 2020.
AFCL discovered that the distinction within the numbers introduced by the 2 governments displays the varieties of offenses they embrace of their calculations. The U.S. consists of folks concerned in protests who have been arrested for violations exterior of the NSL’s scope. China alternatively solely counts folks arrested below the NSL.
The NSL was enacted in June 2020, greater than a yr after large-scale protests broke out in response to the introduction of an extradition invoice that might allow mainland China to extradite Hong Kong suspects for trial. The regulation gave Hong Kong authorities extra energy to prosecute critics within the identify of nationwide safety.
However earlier than it went into impact, many protesters had already been detained on a number of different prices, similar to unlawful meeting, rioting, incitement and damaging public property.
The Hong Kong Free Press, which calls itself an unbiased information outlet, cited knowledge from the Safety Bureau of Hong Kong to report that as of Jan. 20 the variety of folks within the metropolis who had been arrested for actions endangering nationwide safety for the reason that laws was enacted was 243.
The outlet reported in October 2022 that over 3,000 people, including 517 minors, have been prosecuted “for offenses linked to the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests.” It additionally stated that by the top of August,10,279 folks had been apprehended by police.
The Hong Kong authorities corroborated the knowledge in a information article in Xinhua, China’s state media agency. It reported 10,242 folks had been arrested by Hong Kong authorities since mid-2019, when large-scale protests in opposition to the anti-extraction invoice broke out.
As for convicted political prisoners, a database of prisoners sentenced for pro-democratic actions maintained by the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a non-profit group, confirmed a complete of 1,337 on the finish of January.
Conclusion
The U.S. declare that greater than 10,000 folks have been arrested throughout Hong Kong’s anti-government protests is backed by official Chinese language sources. It’s false to say that the U.S. is exaggerating the quantity.
China’s declare that solely “around 230 people” have been arrested after the enactment of NSL can be true. However that framing sidesteps the truth that the overwhelming majority of arrests linked with anti-government exercise occurred months earlier than the safety regulation was adopted.
Asia Truth Test Lab (AFCL) is a brand new department of RFA, established to counter disinformation in in the present day’s complicated media setting. Our journalists publish each day by day and particular stories that purpose to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of public points.
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