The Ministry of Foreign Affairs refutes claims that the 12 detained people were democracy activists and said they were trying to separate Hong Kong from China.

Beijing has hit back at US criticism over the detention of 12 Hong Kong activists in mainland China.

The United States says it is deeply concerned about the group whose ages range between 16 and 33.

In a tweet, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted claims that the detained were democracy activists, and said they were trying to separate Hong Kong from China.

The families of the detainees are calling on the Hong Kong authorities to help bring the group home.

Al Jazeera’s Divya Gopalan reports.

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