HONG KONG (AFP) ? Hong Kong rights groups on Wednesday urged the territory's residents to stop travelling to mainland China in protest at a crackdown on dissidents and activists.
In recent weeks, scores of lawyers, dissidents and campaigners have been taken into police custody, put under house arrest, or faced criminal charges in Beijing's onslaught against domestic detractors.
They include Ai Weiwei, a prominent artist and harsh critic of China's Communist Party leaders, who was detained in early April for unspecified "economic crimes", sparking worldwide condemnation.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, has maintained a semi-autonomous status since its return to China in 1997, with a separate legal system and civil liberties not seen on the mainland.
On Wednesday, activists from six rights groups called on Hong Kongers to send a strong message to the Chinese government by cancelling their travel plans during the forthcoming Easter and Labour Day holidays.
"We are asking the people of Hong Kong to stop going to China," said Lee Cheuk-yan, a prominent lawmaker and chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic and Democractic Movements in China.
"We are telling them there will be travel dangers and they cannot express themselves freely there," said Lee, describing the recent roundup of activists as as the "worst" since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Lee and representatives from Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Journalists Association, among others, distributed leaflets outside an office of the government-linked China Travel Service.
China's crackdown followed anonymous online calls urging activists and dissidents to stage "Jasmine" protests similar to the unrest that has swept the Arab world, toppling some authoritarian regimes.
A top Chinese lawyer who was known for taking on sensitive rights-related cases returned home Tuesday night after two months in police custody, but others are still being held.
Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders said more than 50 activists have been detained and many more placed under house arrest. Of those detained, the group said nearly 40 have been criminally charged.
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