A student group, which sought for an independent Hong Kong, revealed that the families of its two activists have received warnings from mainland Chinese law enforcement agents. The pair was warned to "stop their political activities."
According to South China Morning Post, the claim courtesy of Studentlocalism surfaced after the city's pro-democracy party Demosisto earlier announced that two of its members had been detained during their visits to the mainland this year.
A human rights group said mainland law enforcers were responsible for conducting a supposed "fact-finding" mission. Apparently, it is said to be aimed at intimidating the aforementioned independence group.
One member of the family of an 18-year-old Studentlocalism activist was stopped by police officers upon his return to Hong Kong. Reports suggest that he was coming from Guangdong several months ago, a report by which the group confirmed.
A second activist's family allegedly received a similar warning from police at a business chamber in Quanzhou, Fujian province. Officers there said the activist had been posting anti-China messages online.
This forced the activists to cite Article 22 of the Basic Law, which says that no mainland authorities have the power to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs.
"The recent cases of Chinese law enforcement departments harassing and detaining Hong Kong residents were clear violations of the Basic Law. We strongly condemn such acts," the group said.
The officers pressed the family member to help stop the youngster's "political activities".
"They said they would send someone to get in touch with the activist, who then quit Studentlocalism out of personal safety concerns," a statement from the group said on Saturday.
Studentlocalism said the Hong Kong government should make a representation to the Chinese government to protect the safety of Hong Kong residents.
The group also went to claim that the city's police forces have been following Tony Chung, who is a convener of the group and a former six student, as reported by Hong Kong Free Press. This was done in order to force Chung to obtain information. Moreover, the police also tried to meet with members of the group in the past.
It demanded that the Security Bureau reveal information on the surveillance of Hong Kong political groups, and clarify whether it sent information about the organizations to the Chinese government.
In response, the metro's Security Bureau told Ming Pao that citizens must follow local laws in different jurisdictions. It urged residents to hand over information if they wished the government to follow up with the cases.
