By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 23: Activist group Students for a Free Tibet- India (SFT) on Friday carried out a demonstration in solidarity with the 12 Hong Kong youth activists who were charged with “unlawfully crossing the border” on Aug. 23. At the McLeod Ganj square, the activist group condemned the illegal detention of the Hong Kongers and urged the international community to pressure China to censure arbitrary practices.
Chinese coastguards found the speedboat off the coast of Hong Kong with 12 people aged 16 to 30 who were allegedly headed to Taiwan to seek asylum. Among the arrested is young activist Andy Li who was previously arrested under the national security law during the protests held in June.
Director of SFT-India Rinzin Choedon expressed her solidarity with the 12 activists, “We are expressing our solidarity with Hong Kong as it continues to suffer under the Chinese authoritarian regime. The activists held non-violent protests for over a year. As Tibetans, we have also been subjected to such arbitrary practices. Numerous Tibetan political prisoners have been arrested for politically motivated reasons since the occupation of Tibet. We want to send a clear message to China to put a stop to human rights violations in Tibet, HK, East Turkistan, Taiwan, and Southern Mongolia.”
The campaign to save the 12 emerged on a global virtual platform. Climate activist Greta Thunberg also shared the #save12HKyouths with the caption, “12 is more than just a number”. Moreover, a global coalition of 87 NGOs recently demanded their immediate release and raised concerns over the state-appointed lawyers for the 12. The family appointed lawyers were repeatedly denied access to their clients.
The exiled activist Joshua Wong accused the HK government of colluding with the mainland authorities to “kidnap” the group and putting activists in great danger.
