US Demands Beijing Free Detained Hongkongers

The US embassy in China has urged mainland authorities to immediately release the 12 young Hongkongers caught by the coast guard in August as they allegedly tried to escape to Taiwan by boat.

"Their so-called 'crime' was to flee tyranny. Communist China will stop at nothing to prevent its people from seeking freedom elsewhere," a statement from the embassy said.

It called on the mainland authorities to allow the 12 to go home.

In response to the statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing said Washington should stop using Hong Kong to interfere in China's internal affairs.

Ten of the Hong Kong group were due to go on trial on Monday afternoon, accused of entering mainland waters illegally. The other two have not been charged because they are minors, officials said earlier.

Relatives of the Hongkongers have not been able to visit the 12 since they were arrested on August 23, and they were not given enough notice to attempt to attend the trial.

Court officials in Shenzhen told RTHK that the hearing would be public, but that the quota for places in the courtroom had already been filled.

Eleven of the 12 detainees had been accused of protest-related offences in SAR, while one had been arrested under the national security law.

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