China has been repatriating political opponents and activists in a manner that tests international laws as President Xi Jinping widens his crackdown on those who oppose his administration. The country bypassed procedures while transferring persons of interest back to the mainland. Some of these transferring operations were carried out in Hong Kong and Thailand, which are outside its jurisdiction.
According to The Wall Street Journal, among those who have been repatriated back to the mainland and have disappeared right after are five Hong Kong publishers from a Chinese political tabloid.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, China did a flagrant violation of international laws when just last year, it made Thailand deport over a hundred members of the Uighur minority back to China.
Meanwhile, the International Business Times has reported that Chinese officials finally broke their silence and spoke about the disappearance of Lee Bo, the book publisher from Hong Kong who went missing in December for his cause on printing and selling books that criticize Chinese leaders. According to his wife, the author/publisher looked in good spirits and is in cooperation with the Chinese police to serve as a witness in an investigation.
Another recent report from Time magazine says that Li Xin, a journalist who also went missing two weeks ago, has resurfaced, made a call to his wife, and said he is under police custody. Li Xin disappeared in Thailand's borders in early January. He traveled to seek asylum to the US from India, but failed to do so.
These disappearances have prompted widespread protests in Hong Kong over what they believe as a massive Chinese clamp down on Hong Kong media. Concerns have risen over the mainland government's tactics to skirt around the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong enjoys a certain autonomous relationship from.
"Assisting in an investigation in the capacity of a witness" is a statement many activists believed to be coerced. According to Albert Ho, a legislator from Hong Kong, this new Chinese way of extraditing prosecuted individuals will have a tremendous impact. "It goes to shake the foundations of one country, two systems." However, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said China is committed to One Country, Two Systems.
