Latest news with #KwokYin-sang
HKFP
20-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong High Court grants bail to father of wanted activist Anna Kwok pending his nat. sec trial
Hong Kong's High Court has granted bail to the father of wanted pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok, pending his national security trial for allegedly trying to handle her financial assets. Kwok Yin-sang, 68, is the first person to be charged with 'attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources belonging to, or owned or controlled by, a relevant absconder,' under Hong Kong's homegrown security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, also known as Article 23. He has been detained since his arrest on April 30, alongside his 35-year-old son, the brother of Anna Kwok, who was released on police bail without being formally charged. Kwok Yin-sang was denied bail by a magistrate earlier this month on national security grounds, after which he took his application for temporary release to the High Court. High Court Judge Alex Lee on Tuesday granted him bail on condition of HK$200,000 in cash and another HK$200,000 in surety from his son, according to local media reports. The bail conditions also include surrendering travel documents, living at the reported residence, reporting to the police every day, not contacting prosecution witnesses, and not getting in touch with Anna Kwok during the bail period. This is the first known successful bail application in a case charged under Article 23. Kwok Yin-sang will next appear in court on June 13. Kwok Yin-sang is accused of attempting to obtain funds earlier this year from an AIA International life and personal accident insurance policy, with Anna Kwok, based in the US, listed as the insured person. The Hong Kong government barred anyone from dealing with Anna Kwok's assets in the city after Secretary for Security Chris Tang declared her an 'absconder,' along with six other exiled activists, in December. The 28-year-old is among the first group of eight overseas Hong Kong activists wanted by the city's national security police. She is accused of colluding with foreign forces and having requested foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China. Currently, 19 Hong Kong activists abroad are wanted by the national security police, with each having a HK$1 million bounty leading to their arrest. 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. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
HKFP
08-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Father of wanted Hong Kong activist Anna Kwok denied bail on nat. sec grounds
The father of wanted activist Anna Kwok has been denied bail on national security grounds after he was charged last week with attempting to handle financial assets of an 'absconder.' Kwok Yin-sang, 68, was brought to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Thursday morning to review his bail status before Chief Magistrate Victor So. He was remanded in custody on Friday after he was charged with one count of 'attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources belonging to, or owned or controlled by, a relevant absconder.' 💡 Under court reporting restrictions on bail proceedings, written and broadcast reports are limited to only include the result of a bail application, the name of the person applying for bail and their representation, and the offence concerned. So said on Thursday that after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence and reviewing all documents, there were insufficient grounds to believe that Kwok Yin-sang would not continue to engage in activities endangering national security if he was granted bail. So ordered Kwok Yin-sang to remain in custody pending his next court appearance on June 13. He may apply for bail at the High Court. First family member charged Kwok Yin-sang is the first family member of a wanted activist to be charged under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, more commonly known as Article 23. It is also the first prosecution for the offence, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison. He is accused of attempting to obtain funds earlier this year from an AIA International Ltd life and personal accident insurance policy, with Anna Kwok, based in the US, listed as the insured person. The Hong Kong government barred anyone from dealing with Anna Kwok's assets in the city after Secretary for Security Chris Tang declared her an 'absconder,' along with six other exiled activists, in December. The 28-year-old is among the first group of eight overseas Hong Kong activists wanted by the city's national security police. She is said to have colluded with foreign forces and requested the imposition of sanctions on Hong Kong and China. So far, 19 Hong Kong activists abroad are wanted by the national security police. Authorities are offering a bounty of HK$1 million for each of the democracy campaigners. 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. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
HKFP
03-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Wanted activist Anna Kwok's father detained pending trial for attempting to handle financial assets of ‘absconder'
The father of self-exiled Hong Kong activist Anna Kwok has been detained pending trial for allegedly attempting to handle the financial assets of an 'absconder.' Kwok Yin-sang, 68, was brought to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Friday afternoon to face one count of 'attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources belonging to, or owned or controlled by, a relevant absconder.' Chief Magistrate Victor So, a designated national security judge in Hong Kong, ordered Kwok Yin-sang to be remanded in custody pending his next court appearance on June 13. It is the first time Hong Kong authorities have charged a family member of a wanted activist under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, more commonly known as Article 23. It is also the first prosecution for the offence that is punishable by up to seven years in prison. According to the charge sheet, between January 4 and February 27, Kwok Yin-sang is said to have attempted to obtain funds from a life and personal accident insurance policy that belonged to Anna Kwok – who is wanted by Hong Kong authorities for suspected foreign collusion. The insurance company concerned was AIA International Limited. The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force said on Friday that two men – aged 68 and 35 – were arrested in Tseung Kwan O on Wednesday on suspicion of breaching Article 23. Police said investigations revealed that the two suspects assisted Anna Kwok in changing the details of an insurance policy and attempted to withdraw its remaining value. Citing unnamed sources, local media reported that the 35-year-old man, who was released on police bail and not formally charged, was her brother. Anna Kwok, 28, is among the first group of eight overseas Hong Kong activists wanted by the city's national security police. Authorities are offering a bounty of HK$1 million for each of the democracy campaigners. The activist, who left the city in January 2020, is said to have met with overseas politicians and government officials to request the imposition of sanctions and to engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong and China. She is accused of attending meetings and campaigns in foreign countries in her capacity as a core member of the US-based Hong Kong Democracy Council between September 2021 and February 2022. Her parents were brought in by the police for questioning in August 2023, a month after police issued an arrest warrant for their daughter. The force said at the time that they were suspected of 'assisting persons wanted by police to continue to commit acts and engage in activities that endanger national security.' After her parents were questioned by police, the activist apologised to her family on social media platform X. '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,' she wrote in Chinese. In the same month, local media reported that police questioned her brothers for investigations into whether they had any contact or financial transactions with the wanted activist. So far, police have issued warrants for and placed bounties on 19 Hong Kong activists based in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. In December last year, Secretary for Security Chris Tang invoked his powers under the Article 23 legislation, declaring her and six other activists an 'absconder in respect of offences endangering national security.' Tang also imposed a series of orders against the seven individuals, including prohibiting them from dealing with funds in Hong Kong. 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. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
Saudi Gazette
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Hong Kong police arrest family of pro-democracy activist, reports say
HONG KONG — Police in Hong Kong have arrested the father and brother of US-based pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok for allegedly helping with her finances, according to media reports. It is the first time the relatives of an "absconder" have been charged under the territory's security law, Reuters news agency said. The authorities accused Ms Kwok, 26, of breaching Hong Kong's national security laws after participating in pro-democracy protests in 2019. She fled the territory in 2020 and now serves as the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), an organization based in Washington DC. Police said they had arrested two men aged 35 and 68 on suspicion of handling "funds or other financial assets" belonging to Kwok, Reuters said. Local media later identified the two men as relatives of Ms Kwok, citing police sources. According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), police launched an investigation into the pair after observing they had met Ms Kwok overseas. The 68-year-old, identified by local media as Ms Kwok's father Kwok Yin-sang, is accused of helping his daughter handle her insurance policy upon his return to Hong Kong. According to a charge sheet seen by Reuters, Kwok Yin-sang had been trying to access Ms Kwok's life and personal accident insurance policy which could be used to obtain funds on her behalf. He has been denied bail by national security judge Victor So at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, Reuters reported. The 35-year-old man, identified by local media as Ms Kwok's brother, is accused of supporting their father's attempts to retrieve the money, Reuters said. He has reportedly been released on bail pending further investigation. Under Hong Kong's Safeguarding National Security Bill, it is illegal to "make available, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources to, or for the benefit of, a relevant absconder". In 2023, Hong Kong placed a bounty on the heads of several pro-democracy activists — including Ms Kwok — who had fled the territory. The eight activists targeted were accused of colluding with foreign forces — a crime that can carry a sentence of life in prison. At the time, Ms Kwok said the bounty was aimed at intimidating her and her fellow activists. "That's exactly the kind of thing the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist party would do — which is to intimidate people into not doing anything, silencing them," she told BBC's Newshour at the time. The former British colony became a special administrative region of China in 1997, when Britain's 99-year lease of the New Territories, north of Hong Kong island, expired. Hong Kong still enjoys freedoms not seen in mainland China, but they are widely thought to be on the decline. — BBC
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hong Kong police arrest family of pro-democracy activist, reports say
Police in Hong Kong have arrested the father and brother of US-based pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok for allegedly helping with her finances, according to media reports. It is the first time the relatives of an "absconder" have been charged under the territory's security law, Reuters news agency said. The authorities accused Ms Kwok, 26, of breaching Hong Kong's national security laws after participating in pro-democracy protests in 2019. She fled the territory in 2020 and now serves as the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), an organisation based in Washington DC. Police said they had arrested two men aged 35 and 68 on suspicion of handling "funds or other financial assets" belonging to Kwok, Reuters said. Local media later identified the two men as relatives of Ms Kwok, citing police sources. According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), police launched an investigation into the pair after observing they had met Ms Kwok overseas. The 68-year-old, identified by local media as Ms Kwok's father Kwok Yin-sang, is accused of helping his daughter handle her insurance policy upon his return to Hong Kong. According to a charge sheet seen by Reuters, Kwok Yin-sang had been trying to access Ms Kwok's life and personal accident insurance policy which could be used to obtain funds on her behalf. He has been denied bail by national security judge Victor So at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, Reuters reported. The 35-year-old man, identified by local media as Ms Kwok's brother, is accused of supporting their father's attempts to retrieve the money, Reuters said. He has reportedly been released on bail pending further investigation. Under Hong Kong's Safeguarding National Security Bill, it is illegal to "make available, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources to, or for the benefit of, a relevant absconder". In 2023, Hong Kong placed a bounty on the heads of several pro-democracy activists - including Ms Kwok - who had fled the territory. The eight activists targeted were accused of colluding with foreign forces - a crime that can carry a sentence of life in prison. At the time, Ms Kwok said the bounty was aimed at intimidating her and her fellow activists. "That's exactly the kind of thing the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist party would do - which is to intimidate people into not doing anything, silencing them," she told BBC's Newshour at the time. The former British colony became a special administrative region of China in 1997, when Britain's 99-year lease of the New Territories, north of Hong Kong island, expired. Hong Kong still enjoys freedoms not seen in mainland China, but they are widely thought to be on the decline. China accuses UK of harbouring Hong Kong fugitives Hong Kong profile
