Tang says Arrested Protesters Will be Charged... Eventually

Over 10,000 people were arrested in connection with protests

Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung says the authorities will continue to prosecute the 2019 protesters with no time limit, even "after 20 years". 

He said if a deadline was set it would go against the spirit of the rule of law and could risk "legalising illegal acts".

Some are calling for the authorities to wrap up cases five years after the 2019 protests, but Tang disagrees.

Tang says prosecutions will continue

"Unless there is a time limit for prosecution, we will lodge a case when we have sufficient evidence and upon agreement from the Department of Justice. This reflects the spirit of the rule of law," he said in an interview.

"I understand that some people have raised the idea that we should drop the cases based on a certain time frame, but this would in fact legalise illegal acts. I think this isn't in line with the spirit of the rule of law. Illegal things are simply illegal."

The police arrested 10,279 people aged 11 to 87 in connection with the 2019 protests, and of that total, 2,974 have either gone through or are undergoing judicial procedures as of September.

Of those, 2,403 have faced punishment after pleading guilty or were convicted. Therefore, there are more than 7,000 arrestees who have yet to be charged, five years later.

"If we had evidence and know who you are, but chose not to arrest you until when we wish to do so, then that's not right. But we need time to gather evidence -- this is reasonable," Tang said.

Tang says police are still investigating 5 years on

He explained the police were painstakingly going through video footage to identify each person and gather evidence in order to press charges, and a lot of people participated in the protests.

"This isn't a matter concerning how many years have been spent on this. For those who have offended the law and left Hong Kong, we will arrest them just the same if they come back after 20 years," Tang warned.

However, Professor Simon Young Ngai-man of the University of Hong Kong's law school said finality was a very important aspect of the city's legal system, which former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang noted in a previous court case.

He acknowledged that while it was true there was no limitation period for indictable offences, it was also unlikely that the thousands of arrested-but-not-charged cases were still being actively investigated.

Young suggested the authorities should at least inform those whose cases were not under active investigation.

"I see no consistency with the rule of law to say to those persons that 'no active investigation is not being undertaken in relation to your case'. This would provide them with some degree of assurance that they can put the past behind them," he said. "For those whose cases are still active, nothing needs to be said to them."

But it seems the government is intent on keeping those arrested on edge, even if it takes 20 years or more to finally charge them...