The suggestion that the government or police may have been aware the 12 fugitives, one of whom was facing charges under the city’s national security law, planned to flee Hong Kong, and let them go — exposing them to greater penalties in China — has caused widespread outrage in the city.
“I’m shocked and appalled as the Hong Kong Government evidently colluded with Chinese authorities to put activists in greater danger, on matters clearly within its jurisdiction,” Wong said in a statement.
In a press release Thursday, a group representing the fugitives’ families accused the government of a “conspiracy” to hand over their loved ones to China, and called for their immediate release.