Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Fate of 8 Hong Kongers lies in hands of Chinese Communist Party after attempted speedboat escape to Taiwan
Fate of 8 Hong Kongers lies in hands of Chinese Communist Party after attempted speedboat escape to Taiwan
Jul 1, 2025 2:32 AM
munist oppression is so bad that desperate Hong Kongers are taking desperate steps to escape. munist party’s response to these attempts shows just why so many are trying to flee.

Read More…

Eight Hong Kongers who were involved in a 2020 attempt to flee to Taiwan via speedboat appeared in high court on Sept. 2, facing charges of perverting the course of justice within the restrictions set by Hong Kong’s National Security Law, or NSL, according to Hong Kong Free Press.

Back in August 2020, a group of 11 men and one woman, all activists or young students, bought a speedboat and attempted to escape from Hong Kong to democratic Taiwan. On the morning of Aug. 23, 2020, their speedboat was seized by China’s Guangdong Coast Guard about 50 miles southeast of their departure spot.

Eight of the 12 faced court on Thursday before Judge Amanda Woodcock, with most of the group already serving prison terms in mainland China. The eight will now stand trial for a second time in Hong Kong court.

Only one of the eight, Cheung Chun-fu, will plead guilty, according to his representative. In addition, Woodcock denied short-term bail for Yim Man-him, meaning Man-him will remain in Hong Kong custody along with the other seven.

A second court date is set for Oct. 26, to allow more time for legal advice.

As the arrested activists left court, spectators expressed their support, as cheers of “hang in there!” could be heard from the public gallery.

Along with the eight, another Hong Konger who was not involved in the speedboat escape was also charged with perverting the course of justice. Hoang Lam-phuc, 17, was sentenced to a training center in July after pleading guilty to the charges.

Two of the eight remain imprisoned in mainland China after receiving harsher sentences for organizing the escape.

Among the 12 activists is Andy Li, who is facing separate charges under the Beijing-imposed NSL, which bans what the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, deems as secession, subversion, or acts of terrorism. He pled guilty in August to playing a role in a conspiracy to collude with foreign forces alongside longtime Acton friend, pro-democracy advocate, and media mogul Jimmy Lai.

The activists’ appearance in court is the latest event in the CCP’s relentless quest for absolute control, and increases strict public punishments for Hong Kong citizens who promote a democratic society. It took sheer desperation for the 12 Hong Kongers to flee their homes, but the CCP’s treatment of these activists makes clear why they took the risk.

Previous Article：Dreher: A virtuous resistance against totalitarianism must challenge the status quo – especially in classrooms Next Article：Bombs, guns, and drones cannot win a spiritual war (UPDATED)
Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Explainer: What you should know about the 2018 partial government shutdown
What just happened? On Friday the federal government entered a partial shutdown after the Senate failed to pass a spending bill that includes border wall funding. President Trump refuses to sign any additional funding that does not include $5.1 billion in additional money to pay for an extension of the border wall, allowing him to fulfill his primary campaign promise. What is a partial government shutdown? A government shutdown occurs either when Congress fails to pass funding bills or when...
5 Facts about Christmas
Christmas is the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world. Here are five factsyou should know about the memoration of the birth of Jesus: 1. No one knows what day or month Jesus was born (though some scholars speculate that it was in September). The earliest evidence for the observance of December 25 as the birthday of Christappears in the Philocalian posed in Rome in 336. 2. Despite the impression given by many nativity plays andChristmascarols, the Bible doesn’t...
Joy for the world: The true source of our economic witness
As the culture around us continues to move farther into post-Christian territory, the Christian response has often taken the shape of heavy-handed strategy or top-down mobilization. The goal: to win the culture back! In our economic activity, we focus on starting “Christian businesses” or “social enterprises” and using our profits and salaries to fund “kingdom endeavors.” In our political action, we opt for politicians who share specific religious beliefs, hoping they will somehow set the world to rights. In the...
Criminal justice reform: What does economics have to say?
This is part two of a series on criminal justice reform. Read part one here. For many, crime and criminal justice are not obvious economic issues, despite their effects on public budgets due to the cost of courts, policing, investigating crimes, and much more. Private efforts impose significant costs, as well, whether from house alarms, flood lights, or door locks, not to mention the costs incurred by victims. But costs such as these are not the primary source of economic...
What you can do this coming new year to increase economic freedom
When we think of the concept “economic freedom” we often think about essential liberties and the factors that make them possible (e.g., free markets, the rule of law, and property rights). But for Christians economic freedom is not an end unto itself but the means for freeing our resources to use in ways that God intends. Being free of the bonds of economic statism is therefore useless if we use our liberty to enslave ourselves. As Kevin DeYoung asks, Do...
Teaching The Gulag Archipelago to American college students
In December, the PowerBlog is marking the centenary of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s birth (Dec. 11, 1918) “Why didn’t they tell us this? I never heard this from my teachers.” That’s the late Edward E. Ericson Jr., Solzhenitsyn scholar and Calvin College professor, describing a typical reaction in his classroom when his students first encountered Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago. The video that follows below was found in the Acton archives. It is from the raw interview recording that ultimately was edited...
Criminal justice reform: What is it and why does it matter?
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted 87-12 to pass the First Step Act. If enacted, the legislation would provide some reform of prisons and sentencing at the federal level. The most significant changes would be the implementation of incentives for prisoners to engage in “evidence-based recidivism reduction programs” and increased judicial discretion in sentencing. The bill now goes to the House for a vote, where it is expected to pass, and President Donald Trump said he would sign it into...
UK govt to investigate global Christian persecution
As the Westcontinues to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas which extend into the New Year,some 215 million Christiansworldwide face violence or repression. On the day after Christmas, the Britishgovernment launched a review of Christian persecution in “key countries” –especially in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa – and to seek ways the UK canhelp those who are suffering. Christianity is on the“verge of extinction in its birthplace,” saidForeign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who ordered the report. “So often the persecution...
Gilet jaunes and the issue of intergenerational justice
France’s “yellow vest” protesters oppose the nation’s crushing carbon taxes on fossil fuels, but a deeper issue stoking discontent remains unexplored. Without addressing that issue, President Emmanuel Macron’s concessions to the gilet jaunes protesters “will certainly not resolve France’s underlying economic problems,” writes Professor Philip Booth in a new essay for Religion& LibertyTransatlantic titled, “Gilet jaune: the uprising of a generation.” Arguably, we are beginning to see the results of the disastrous decisions to set up “pay-as-you-go” pension and healthcare...
Is the UK facing massive child poverty?
Charles Dickens wrote in Oliver Twist that “very sage, very deep” British leaders “established the rule that all poor people should have the alternative … of being starved by a gradual process in the [poor]house, or by a quick one out of it.” If one were to believe a recent UN report on poverty, the fate of the poor remains Dickensian. Orrather, Hobbesian, as UN Special Rapporteur PhilipAlston quoted the philosopher’s ubiquitous description of life as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish,...
Related Classification
RELIGION & LIBERTY
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
About
Terms and Conditions Privacy policy Cookie Settings Contact Us
Services
Login register
mreligion RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE RELIGION & LIBERTY
Links
zpostcode Recruit weather mreligion Yellowpages sport constellation shopping name game directory literature Word tour furnish Lottery tftnews lyrics News digital car dir Edu Finance
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved