Hong Kong nat sec. police question 2 other relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay

HKFP

2 days ago

Hong Kong national security police have brought in two other relatives of wanted activist Joe Tay for questioning – the second such occasion this month.
Tay's cousin and her husband were brought to Tsing Yi Police Station for questioning on Thursday, local media reported.
HKFP saw a man and a woman, both wearing caps and face masks, leave the police station in two private vehicles at around 11 am.
In response to HKFP enquiries, police said its National Security Department interviewed two individuals on Thursday to 'assist in an investigation.'
The case is still under investigation, and no arrests have been made so far, the force also said, without giving any details.
Tay's other cousin and his wife were brought in by the police for questioning earlier this month.
Tay, 62, currently based in Canada, is one of six overseas activists for whom police issued arrest warrants in December. He left Hong Kong in June 2020. Each wanted person has a HK$1 million bounty on their head for alleged national security violations.
Tay is accused of incitement to secession and collusion with foreign forces.
He allegedly operated a channel called 'HongKonger Station' between June 2020 and June 2024, where he published numerous videos to incite secession and called on foreign countries to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong.
Apart from Tay, 18 other overseas activists are wanted by the Hong Kong authorities, including former lawmakers Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok, and former student leader Nathan Law.
Police have brought in a number of the activists' family members for questioning, including the parents of US-based activist Frances Hui.
In early May, police charged Anna Kwok's father, Kwok Yin-sang, with attempting to handle financial assets of an 'absconder.' He is the first family member of a wanted activist to be charged under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, more commonly known as Article 23.
The 68-year-old stands accused of breaching the domestic security law by attempting to obtain funds from an AIA International life and personal accident insurance policy, with Anna Kwok, based in the US, listed as the insured person.
He was granted bail by the High Court last week after being denied bail at a lower court.
Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature.