Matthew Cheung Greeted With Protests At Legco

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung was greeted with protests by pro-democracy lawmakers at Legco on Friday, demanding that he meet the families of the 12 Hongkongers who are being detained on the mainland.

Cheung had arrived at the council for a Finance Committee meeting for lawmakers to vet the government's third round of anti-epidemic subsidies.

But when he arrived, he was greeted by pan-democrat lawmakers who followed Cheung and chanted slogans such as "free the 12 Hong Kong residents", and "go and meet their families".

During the actual Finance Committee meeting, the camp continued to press him to meet the families of the detainees, saying the government needs to do a lot more to provide them with humanitarian assistance.

But Cheung said the Immigration Department is responsible for following up on the matter.

"We must stick to our long-standing arrangement, the Immigration Department is responsible for dealing with these issues. As usual, they are very happy to support and meet the family members," he said.

After a while, the committee chairman Chan Kin-por warned the protesting lawmakers and asked staff members to remove their placards.

The camp has been urging the government to request the return of a group of 12 Hongkongers who were detained by mainland authorities in Shenzhen allegedly for illegally entering mainland waters in a speedboat.

The group were reportedly trying to flee the SAR for Taiwan.