⁍ Hundreds of people rallied in Taiwan’s capital on Sunday to call for China to release 12 Hong Kong people arrested at sea by mainland authorities.

---

⁍ The 12 were arrested on Aug. 23 for alleged illegal entry into mainland China after setting off from Hong Kong in a boat bound for democratic Taiwan.

---

⁍ Many demonstrators wore black shirts, with some holding signs demanding ‘immediate release’ for the 12 and others waving yellow umbrellas.

---

– More than a dozen pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong who fled to Taiwan last month are being held in China, accused of entering the country illegally, Reuters reports. According to the BBC, the 12 were on their way to protest when they were arrested Aug. 23 near the Chinese-controlled island of Taiwan. The activists say they were trying to escape Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Security Bureau says the 12 are suspected of committing crimes including arson and rioting in the former British colony. Hundreds of people rallied in Taiwan’s capital on Sunday to call for China to release the 12 people. “We want the Chinese Communist Party to know the entire world is paying attention to the 12 people so that they can’t act unjustly,” a protester tells Reuters. The rally was part of a global campaign to support the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. “The attention for Hong Kong is waning. We need to come out and support Hong Kongers,” the protester says. An online rally is scheduled for Sunday evening in Hong Kong. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said the 12 will have to face justice in the mainland and that her government will provide them with ‘needed and feasible’ assistance. Ten of them were on bail and not allowed to leave Hong Kong. Taiwan shares with the Hong Kong protesters a deep antipathy for Beijing, which considers Taiwan its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.