Father of US-based pro-democracy activist reportedly arrested by Hong Kong police

Hong Kong police reportedly arrested the father and brother of pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok for allegedly attempting to handle her finances.

This is the first time the city’s national security law has been used to prosecute a family member of an “absconder”, reports said. The offence is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Ms Kwok, the executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, is one of 19 activists wanted by Hong Kong’s national security police. She is on self-imposed exile in the US after she was accused of national security offences including foreign collusion and incitement to secession, and a bounty of HK$1m (£97,241) offered on her arrest.

According to Reuters, police said in a press release on Friday that two men aged 35 and 68 were arrested on 30 April on suspicion of handling “funds or other financial assets” that belonged to Ms Kwok.

Local media then identified the men as Ms Kwok’s brother and father, citing unnamed sources.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Merchant Kwok Yin-sang, 68, appeared before West Kowloon Court on Friday after being charged by Hong Kong’s national security police with attempting to handle assets belonging to Ms Kwok. Her brother was released on bail pending further investigation.

Court documents seen by the SCMP reveal that the case involves the alleged withdrawal of around HK$110,000 (£10,700) cash from a life and personal accident insurance policy with AIA International registered under Ms Kwok’s name.

The case has been adjourned to 13 June.

In August 2023, Ms Kwok’s parents were brought in for questioning by national security police, a month after an arrest warrant was issued for their daughter, reported the Hong Kong Free Press. At the time, authorities said they were suspected of “assisting persons wanted by police to continue to commit acts and engage in activities that endanger national security”.

After this, she posted an apology to her family on X, formerly Twitter, writing in Chinese: “Until yesterday, my parents were questioned, harassed, and intimidated. While I feel a sense of guilt, I must also say that this was a price I had anticipated. Here, I must apologise to my family .”

China imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. Critics have accused the government of throttling dissent with the help of the law, which makes it easier to arrest and detain protesters.