Mainland Chinese authorities have confirmed that they are holding a 28-year-old Hong Kong citizen who works at the British consulate in Hong Kong, according to media reports.
Simon Cheng, a trade and investment officer at the consulate, was reported missing after he failed to return from a business trip to the neighboring Chinese city of Shenzhen on Aug. 8. His girlfriend told local media that he had messaged her shortly before attempting to pass through a border control point on his way back to Hong Kong, saying “pray for me.”
According to Reuters, Geng Shuang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said that Cheng was being held in Shenzhen for a legal violation.
Hong Kong government-funded broadcaster RTHK quoted Geng as saying “The person you mentioned has been placed in administrative detention for 15 days as a punishment” for breaking a public security law.
The news is sure to exacerbate already worsening tensions between China and the U.K., which governed Hong Kong as a colony for 156 years before retroceding it to China in 1997.
In July, then U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt pledged “unwavering” support to “Hong Kong and its freedoms.” Also last month, Boris Johnson — then the political front runner for the prime-ministership he now holds — said he backed Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters “all the way.”
Such remarks have infuriated Beijing, which has accused the U.K. and other countries of being behind Hong Kong’s ongoing unrest. Last week, the Chinese ambassador to the U.K. said some British politicians were living “in colonial days” and warned the U.K. against interfering in the semi-autonomous enclave, which is politically, culturally, and linguistically distinct from the rest of China.
Cheng’s detention also comes as Hong Kong travelers report having their phones searched at the Chinese border, by officials looking for photos, videos or other evidence of participation in the 12 weeks of protests that have rocked the territory.
One woman told the BBC of being forced to delete photos of the protests from her phone and said “None of my friends want to go to mainland China now.”
Hong Kong’s unrest began as a series of protests against a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed, for the first time, the extradition of fugitives to the mainland. Critics said the bill would be used by Beijing to apprehend dissidents and political opponents.
Peaceful marches against the bill quickly escalated into an anti-government rebellion, with many protesters repudiating Chinese sovereignty and calling for self-determination for Hong Kong’s 7.2 million people. Protesters have torn down the Chinese flag from flagpoles, defaced state emblems and frequently assert that “Hong Kong is not China.”
Activists have called for a rally in support of Cheng in Hong Kong Wednesday evening local time.
