Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said on Saturday that it was difficult for the government to send 12 Hong Kong activists detained in mainland China back to the city because “it has to respect mainland China’s judicial procedure.”

Cheung said in a radio interview that various government branches, including the Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong and the Immigration Department, had been communicating with mainland authorities to ensure the 12 people were in good condition.

“Many think we are not following [the case], but the truth is just the opposite,” he said.

Family members of the imprisoned group said they felt “astounded” after hearing Cheung’s response, and accused the government of not addressing their demands.

The 12 Hongkongers were allegedly captured on Aug. 23 in mainland waters after attempting to flee to Taiwan via speedboat. They had all been arrested with crimes related to last year’s mass anti-government protests against the now-scrapped extradition bill that would enable the government to send fugitive offenders to places with questionable human rights records, including mainland China. They are also the first group of Hong Kong protesters detained in the mainland after Beijing’s implementation of the national security law on June 30.

Activist Andy Li was reportedly one of those arrested and detained in Shenzhen. Li was earlier arrested under the national security law in a police scoop on Aug. 10.

Mainland authorities claimed that the group had appointed their own attorneys and barred lawyers recruited by their families from meeting them. Their families have refuted this claim and said mainland authorities had deprived them of their right to counsel.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security John Lee said on Saturday the government could not send any personnel to assist in the case, as it did not have visitation rights on the mainland.

“In foreign regions, they have their own laws and regulations,” Lee said in a television interview. “We have tried to fight for the rights and interests [of the 12 arrested Hongkongers] under their laws and regulations, but we cannot [require] them to comply with our own practices.”

Pro-democracy lawmaker Eddie Chu criticized the Hong Kong government for siding with the Chinese Communist Party to abuse Hongkongers, in what he described as a “shameful” act.

Chu said family members wanted the 12 arrestees to meet with the lawyers they had entrusted, which was a basic human right protected by the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law.

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