Scottish envoy is jailed for 15 days by China
A MISSING British consular worker from Hong Kong has been jailed for 15 days by the Chinese government for unspecified wrongdoing.
China said Simon Cheng Man-kit has been given ‘administrative detention’ in the southern city of Shenzhen for violating regulations on public order.
The case has stoked Hong Kong residents’ fears that Beijing is extending its judicial reach to Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory and former British colony.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing: ‘The relevant employee is a Hong Kong resident, not a British citizen. In other words, he is Chinese. This is the internal affairs of China.’
Mr Geng said Mr Cheng violated regulations on ‘Punishments in Public Order and Security Administration’, but gave no further details, adding that his case is ‘not a diplomatic issue’. About two dozen people gathered yesterday outside the British consulate in Hong Kong to demand the UK Government step up efforts to secure the release of Mr Cheng, a trade and investment officer at its Scottish Development International section.
‘Save Simon now!’ the crowd chanted in front of a wall of missing person posters with pictures of Mr Cheng.
Max Chung, the event’s organiser and an acquaintance of Mr Cheng, said the consular worker had travelled to Shenzhen on a mainland travel permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents.
He holds a British National Overseas passport, according to Mr Chung. The travel document is issued by the UK to Hong Kong permanent residents.
Public order and security infractions are generally minor – for instance, fighting in the street – and result in administrative rather than criminal punishments. The maximum penalty is 15 days in detention. The British Foreign Office has said it is ‘extremely concerned’ about its staff member. Local media said Mr Cheng attended a business event in Shenzhen on August 8 but did not return to Hong Kong, despite plans to do so the same day. Despite Beijing’s declaration of a ‘golden era’ in Sino-British ties, relations have grown tense recently amid pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Mr Chung and other friends of Mr Cheng said they believe he was detained at the railway station in West Kowloon, part of Hong Kong. The station stirred controversy ahead of its opening last September because passengers go through Chinese immigration and customs inside it. Mainland law applies in the customs area, sparking concerns over the ability of mainland authorities to enforce Chinese law on Hong Kong soil.
‘Not a diplomatic issue’